The Golden Ages
by Tsume Yuki
Summary: Waking up from his battle with Naruto, the last thing Sasuke expected was to land back in the golden old days of team seven, face to face with the girl he just killed. Timetravel SasuNaru FemNaruto NaruSasu DISCONTINUED due to manga ruining plot. Being rewrote under 'Run Devil Run'
1. R Prologue

**The Golden Ages**

Prologue

* * *

_It's just another war_  
_Just another family torn_  
_Falling from my faith today_  
_Just a step from the edge_  
_Just another day in the world we live_

_-Skillet, Hero_

* * *

The fire that had once burned in the pit of his stomach was nothing more than ashes now, as cold and black as his heart. His eyes -the ones that were a perfect mirror of his perfect black heart- stared down at the broken body that stood for all of his accomplishments, the broken body that was now added to the list of his regrets. Casually observing Naruto's broken body as one would observe a new pair of socks, Sasuke Uchiha finally allowed himself to yield to the screaming ache in his muscles, the searing pain of his wounds, dropping down onto the scorched earth besides his best friend. He landed flat, face down and would have been granted a mouthful of burnt earth had he not turned his head at the last second. Instead, he simply lay there, blood seeping out into the soft cotton of his clothes, onto the soft earth that both he and Naruto had abused in their battle. The girl herself was now lifeless, staring back at him with glassy blue eyes that looked like they belonged more to a doll than to what had once been a living breathing human. The natural tan that had once made her face so sunny seemed to have bled across the floor along with her blood, leaving her oval shaped face lifeless. Not even the corners of her mouth had remained in place, now sat in a straight line, never to twist up into that teasing smirk again. The most prominent feature though, was that of the fist shaped hole that'd been blown through her chest, material of the hideous orange and black jacket having been melted against her skin from the sheer heat of the blow.

Sasuke was no fool. He knew Naruto could have, should have easily dodged the blow. However, she hadn't. She hadn't even countered with a Rasengan, instead letting the ball of chakra die in her hand, coughing and spluttering till the blue energy was no longer present. He'd taken it as an opening, believing that she had finally ran out of chakra. But this was Naruto; Naruto never ran out of chakra. He didn't quite figure that out till his Chidori was through her chest and their was a triumphant look in her eyes. And then she'd died.  
Oh, the nine tails was gone, not to reappear for many years. Out of Tobi's reach for a very long time. But with it, had gone the last damn person to care about him, the last damn person who'd move heaven and earth for him, who was willingly thrown her life away for him. Because she knew it'd make him turn around. Oh, he could very much picture it, the sight of both Itachi and Naruto, laughing together in some heavenly place and indulging in a little celebratory dance -well, he could picture Naruto dancing- over the fact that they had finally managed it.

"Why didn't you dodge?" With some hidden strength, Sasuke managed to force himself up onto his hands and knees, panting over the simplest of movements that now seemed to be the hardest task.

"Why didn't you fucking dodge dobe? You did it on fucking purpose, didn't you!" Oh yes, she was defiantly laughing at him now, it'd taken her death, but Naruto had gotten what she wanted in the end.  
Screaming, Sasuke punched at the ground, hissing in pain as his broken hand protesting against the act of violence whilst glare at the girl with all the hate he could muster. He didn't feel the slow trickle of tears leaking from his eyes, didn't feel the salty droplets splatter against his hand. All he knew was that his skin burnt with blood, the blood of Itachi, the blood of Naruto. Another scream tore through his throat, bubbling up into a hysterical hiccup that he didn't quite force down. She'd been planning it all along, and he'd walked, more like ran, willingly into it.  
Used again.

.

It was a few moments to notice that Naruto's hand was clutching something, secured tight, even in death. The muscles that enveloped the bones of her hand were tight, coiled and still preforming what they'd been assigned to do. It took a few more measly seconds of his steadily draining life to realize his name was on the envelope. Ignoring the ice cold fingers that brushed against his own, Sasuke carefully prised the envelope from Naruto's grasp, staring down at the blood that'd soaked into the paper. Naruto's blood. He suddenly felt very, very sick.  
Ripping open the letter, Sasuke read. And then reread, just to make sure his superior eyes weren't playing tricks on him.

_Sasuke-teme,  
Wow I've wrote this letter so many times. But, here goes nothing.  
I guess if you're reading this I've gone belly up huh? Well, can't say I wasn't expecting it, but honestly, did you have to go that far? I was looking forward to having a family you know? That and becoming Hokage...  
Anyway, none of that matters now that I'm all glassy eyed.  
Firstly, congrats on achieving you goal, just try not to go out and destroy Konoha now? Call it a dying wish or whatever, but I really want you to stay away from the place. Leave it be. And if you run into him, be nice to Kurama please? None of this is his fault. Though make sure he tries not to eat you, he's got a thing about Uchiha's, okay?  
Secondly, it has probably come to your attention that your chakra is slowly being pulled into this slip of paper. That's cause there's a seal on the other side. Ha, made ya look, it's a chakra seal, so it's not visible. But yeah, so I've been working on this for a while, it's you second chance. Doesn't matter if you want it or not, you're getting it. Just try to get things right this time eh? I know you'll change something, but if it's for better or worse, well, that's up to you. I trust ya teme, and I know you'll come through for me in the end. Don't worry about the seal taking all your chakra, I've already packed this baby up and it just needs to recognise you to activate. I guess that'll be about the time when you finish reading this. Whataya know, the old dobe is smarter than she looks.  
I know you probably don't want to hear it, but I still believe in our bond. And I know it's something more than a brother and sister share, but I'm kinda new at this... You could have gone easy on me ... I mean, I had no idea what  
I was doing with this whole best friend thing, you were my one and only Sasuke-teme, and I'll miss ya wherever I end up. Hopefully just where I want to be._

_ Well, have fun._

_ The Dobe  
xxx_

.

He wanted to rip the paper in two, wanted to kill her again just for being so damn unpredictable. What the hell did she mean by second chance?  
Though she'd been right, he could feel the smooth trickle of his chakra leaking out into the paper, he was just a quicker reader than what the dobe planned. Something she hadn't accounted for. He all but threw the paper to the floor before struggling to his feet. He didn't want a second chance, he didn't want to be anywhere near that slip of paper. Even in death she couldn't just leave him alone.  
Stumbling a few steps, Sasuke hissed as he crashed to the ground, unable to avoid smacking into the floor and receiving that mouthful of burnt earth like before. The charred dirt smelt smoky, of blood and war and destruction and everything Itachi had ever hated. Everything he'd ever created.  
Highly refined chakra senses kicked into action, recognising the massive build-up behind him coming from that little slip of paper and Sasuke shook his head, struggling to get away, struggling to do anything.  
There was a scorching pain, worse than anything he'd ever felt, and then, everything went blissfully black.

* * *

**Okay, I've decided to rewrite this, as reading through, I've found multiple flaws. So this is top priority right now.**

**Hope you like the new and improved version, if it's been rewrote, the chapter title will be 'R; Prologue' in the little drop down box.**

**Thanks for re-reading,**  
**Tsume**  
**xxx**


	2. R Chapter 1

**The Golden Ages**

Chapter 1

* * *

_Cause I know this isn't much,  
But I know I could, I could be better._

_I don't think I deserve it,  
__Selflessness,  
__Find your way into my heart_

_-The Devil Wears Prada, Louder Than Thunder_

* * *

It was only a light daze that Sasuke found himself in, not exactly the fiery pits of hell that he'd expected, but enough confusion was present in his brain for the last Uchiha to find it highly annoying. The first thing he registered was pain, sheer intense pain that may have had Sasuke entertaining the idea that one of his limbs had been severed if it wasn't for the fact he could still feel all of them. The broken body he owned registered the feeling before recoiling, trying to escape back to the haze of unconsciousness. But Sasuke wouldn't let it.  
He deserved the most agonising death the world could give him, and he'd accept everything he got. However, a gasp of pain still managed to work it's way through his lips, echoing in the air around him. It took him a moment to identify the objects that were brushing against his skin as grass, the soft, dew ridden grass that often covered the land of fire. But he hadn't been anywhere near the land of fire, the last time he'd seen the land of fire was during his battle with Itachi. The sick feeling rose in his throat again, but this time Sasuke forced it down, not too comfortable throwing up over himself. Because he was most certainly laid out on his back, and throwing up would only mean he'd succeed in drowning himself.  
On second thoughts...

Shaking the idea from his head, Sasuke carefully reached out with his chakra, searching the area around him, only for it to snap back into his coils like an elastic band. So he was low on chakra then. However, what he had managed to gather was that it was early morning. Dew lay upon the grass, animals were about and he couldn't sense any human chakra nearby. However, this was where the problem lay, because there was dew between his back and the earth, he could feel the fresh morning water seeping into the cotton of his clothes and cooling the plains of his skin. And for dew to be beneath him, that meant he'd been moved. Especially since there was grass about; there was very little vegetation around Akatsuki's major base. Which could mean one of two things. He was either a) hallucinating before death finally claimed his soul, or b) someone had found him and moved him. He didn't even want to think about Naruto's envelope; he'd probably imagined that too. He liked the first idea better. Yet it wasn't plausible.  
Where was Kakashi when you needed him? He should most certainly be dead, either from his Naruto inflicted wounds or a Chidori to the heart from his former sensei. But as it stood, neither of those two things had happened, so he simply resolved to lie there, waiting to die of his wounds. He was just too sick and tired of it all, the world felt dead now. What with Naruto now gone, what was there left to do?

.

"Hey, what the hell's that?" Or that had been the plan.  
Sasuke shot up so fast his world span and twisted dangerously, vision shaking in a way that had him automatically activating his Sharingan. His ribs screamed in protest, head feeling like it suddenly weight three times it' original mass and leg muscles buckling in a way that sent him dropping to the floor much faster than what he'd been expecting to. Oh, Naruto had most certainly done a number on him here, even his hearing had suffered. The familiar snare of hope sprung up in his stomach, along with the rest of its contents, the latter escaping his mouth and hitting the grass despite his best efforts.

"Shut up Naruto, look what you did!" Now he knew he wasn't hearing things, once a coincidence, twice...  
Sasuke laid there, exhaling as deeply as he dared whilst methodically chanting down from ten, much in the way Kakashi had first taught him when learning how to turn off his Sharingan during fight or flight. Because it was a natural reaction to adrenaline to turn on his Sharingan, to turn it off in the midst of battle was one of the greatest feats for a Uchiha to preform. Once he was sure that the red tinted Dōjutsu had faded -and had forcefully separated the chakra to his eyes to make sure- Sasuke carefully cracked one eye open, not daring to hope. Three figures stood before him, one towering over the other two and blocking the far too bright sun from burning his delicate eyes. His hazy, morning eyed vision could make out two horribly bright figures, one in a shade of red that in no way blended into the scenery and one in a shade of orange so neon it was nostalgic.

"Maa Naruto, what have I told you about approaching strange people?"  
In fact, that particular shade of orange was too near to his heart to be a coincidence, as was that name. And that damn lazy voice.  
He didn't dare to push any chakra to his eyes, never mind activate his Sharingan as he recognised the third figure. Only one person had hair quite that shade of silver. Without even thinking about it, Sasuke's eyes slowly trailed over to the blonde head of hair, completely ignorant of the other two shinobi present. It was like she was the only other person in the world at that moment. From the bright hair, to the tanned skin and blue eyes, to the feminine curve of her cheeks and what was most certainly six whisker marks on each cheek. The sight before him made Sasuke feel sick.

Somehow, he managed to roll up onto his knees as a startled sob escaped his lip, throat closing up painfully as vomit tried to forcefully burn it's way up his oesophagus. Once again, vomit won, escaping between his lips and rousing a disgusted 'ew' from one of his spectators. His chakra control failed, flaring out around him and not only the Sharingan, but the Mangekyō blazing to life in his eyes. It was a good thing he had his back to the three, otherwise Kakashi would have had his ass on a platter already. Limbs shaking with the effort of keeping his face off the ground, Sasuke forced his legs to tuck underneath him so he could take the strain off his quivering arms. The awful smell of vomit assaulted his senses and what little remained in his stomach almost joined the share currently lying on the grass. Eyes squeezed tightly shut, Sasuke began counting back from fifty; trying to force the Mangekyō away was a lot harder work than the Sharingan, especially in a state like this. But it gave him something to focus on something that wasn't the twelve year old version of the best friend he'd just killed. The girl that'd acted as a guy for her own safety.  
The girl that he'd been the end of.

"Look what you did Naruto!" The pink haired menace that'd been the bane of the best part of his schooling life screamed out, the origin of the sound so close it threw him off balance as his body once again resorted to auto pilot, determined to put distance between them before it tried to counter attack. Yet, once again, his muscles wouldn't do as requested. Instead, they only managed to launch him a mere ten feet away from his previous position before his body gave out on him, dropping onto the ground much like a puppet with its strings cut.

"Hey!" That awful voice was back, the higher, younger voice of her and Sasuke couldn't take it. He began to to cry.  
Clutching at his head, he curled in on himself, lying in the fetal position and clenching his eyes shut. Because he couldn't face her. Couldn't look at the girl that put so much trust in him and yet got nothing but hate in return. There was a sharp pain in the back of his skull, and in that slow second, he realized Kakashi must have knocked him out. He always had been far too humane for his own good.  
As the world faded, Sasuke caught one last glance of was a concerned, whiskered face.

* * *

The feel of icy water against his face was enough to wake Sasuke. He groaned, reaching up to rub the invading droplets from his eyes only to feel tight leather straps hold his hands in place. The first thing he realized was that he was strapped to a metal chair. The second thing he realized was that the metal chair he was strapped to was freezing. Shivering, and surprised that no part of his body stopped him from doing so, Sasuke carefully gave himself the once over. From the looks of the bandages that adorned his arms, Kakashi had at least taken him to the hospital before dropping him off at the ANBU T&I, which was all that Sasuke could have asked for. Thankfully, they hadn't cut his hair, leaving it in the thick bangs he'd adopted after Itachi's death and never really gotten around to changing. The inky strands felt warm against his skull, only proving just how cold ANBU were.

"Sasuke Uchiha."  
He paused at the sound of his name, looking up with a frown on his face before his eyes came to rest upon the Third Hokage. He could see the way the Hokage was slouched, age wrapped around his bones in a way few shinobi had the privilege of experiencing. When Sasuke had been younger, he'd always seen Hiruzen Sarutobi as the mountain that held up the leaf, a wise grandfather that knew absolutely everything, could do everything. But now, as argumentatively one of the strongest shinobi in existence, Sasuke could only see just how fragile age had made the monkey summoner. He'd seen it in Danzo as they'd neared the end of their battle, he'd seen a similar weakness in Orochimaru's last few days. It was almost terrifying what experience could do to your perspective of the world.

"How do you know?" Sasuke stared up at the Hokage from under his black bangs, barely able to take in the mans appearance due to the hat he wore. A huge strobe light hung from the ceiling, not only signalling Sasuke out as the captive, but casting a huge shadow over the Hokage's face, making him damn impossible to read without a Dōjutsu, something Sasuke didn't dare risking.

"When a ninja graduates, we collect skin samples, fingerprints, chakra signatures, the works, and it all goes on a special sheet of paper. We compared you against the entire Uchiha clan, and found that you are an almost perfect match... Aside from your eyes. The tissue samples don't match up... Either there was a human error or our part... Or you truly have Itachi's eyes..." He stopped after the affirmative nod from Sasuke, who just gazed half-heartedly at the floor.

"I took his eyes after I killed him... Well, that's not true. I killed Danzo first, then took Itachi's eyes when my own started to fail."

"So you know?"

"Yes."

* * *

He was left in the room for a bit longer when the Hokage left. The village leader had only asked if he was going to do anything about Danzo, to which Sasuke had answered truthfully by proclaiming he didn't know. He didn't feel right, knowing his body was healed, knowing that Naruto was lying dead somewhere in the distant future. As the heavy metal door opened, Sasuke looked up, having just realized how boring prison was. And he'd only been there an hour. Stood with his hands nestled neatly in his pockets, Kakashi Hatake stared down at Sasuke with his lone grey eye, betraying nothing. His posture would appear lazy, even to the vast majority of Jōnin, but Sasuke knew Kakashi. Even beneath the Chũnin vest and the dark, navy coloured shirt, Sasuke's eyes could pick up on the tense muscles that were coiled like a cobra, ready to strike out at the first hint of a problem.

"Kakashi, this is Sasuke... From what he has told me, I am lead to believe that Jiraiya finished his seal in the future, though why he never came back himself, or sent-"

"Naruto died."  
That had both shinobi's stop, looking at Sasuke with horror marring their faces. The damp scent Sasuke had been collected -no thanks to the water the Hokage had thrown at him- was the only thing that remained in the room as the three shinobi stood still, contemplating a life without Naruto. Chest squeezing painfully, Sasuke looked up at the Hokage, begging with his eyes for the man to fill the gaping silence.

"We're certain he's Sasuke Uchiha... The only problem is, what do we do with you?"

"Put me on team seven." Kakashi sighed, running a hand through his hair and Sasuke was struck with how young the copy ninja suddenly looked. Nothing like the serious shinobi that'd sworn to kill him, instead, the man who'd done what he could to try and salvage his humanity was stood before him, metal gloves glinting in the strobe light.

"Maa, what do you think Hokage-sama?"

"He does belong there... Fine. I grant Sasuke Uchiha his freedom, however, he must remain with one of the members of team seven, preferably-"

"Naruto... I want to stay with Naruto."  
The Third and Kakashi shared a knowing look before turning back to Sasuke, whom under the twin gazes sunk his head down into his neck, shaking his head as he did so.

"Granted."  
Maybe it was because the Third thought that Sasuke felt awkward, knowing there was another him running around, maybe it was because the two would clash. He didn't seem to gather that Sasuke was entertaining the idea of running a Chidori through the boys chest in order to solve everyone's problems earlier on. The Third gave him trust like he would give an orphan a home; it made him feel sick all over again.

"Maa, you don't look so good Sasu-chan," Kakashi unstrapped his chaffed wrists, watching as the Uchiha gingerly rubbed a the raw, peeling skin, "maybe we should go get some ramen."  
The idea of getting some of Naruto's food, of drowning in the memories of her left Sasuke feeling rather pleased with himself, so much so that he allowed the tiniest of smiles to creep onto his face for what felt like the first time.

"I'd like that."

* * *

**Okay, I've decided to rewrite this, as reading through, I've found multiple flaws. So this is top priority right now.**

**As it explains above, the Third and Kakashi trust Sasuke because they don't know what he's done. Simple no?  
****Okay, the reason that the time/space thing hasn't been messed up by the presence of Sasuke is that, with him being there, he has ultimately changed the timeline and little Sasuke, thus he won't exist in this future and consequently, making himself his own person separate from little Sasuke.**  


**Also, I think I'll be calling future Sasuke-****mirai (Which means future life), Opinions?**

**Hope you like the new and improved version, if it's been rewrote, the chapter title will be 'R; Prologue' in the little drop down box.**

**Thanks for re-reading,**  
**Tsume**  
**xxx**


	3. R Chapter 2

**The Golden Ages**

Chapter 2

* * *

_Nothing left to lose  
Loving you again  
I know it's already over, already over now_

_-Red, Already Over_

* * *

The streets of Konoha were a buzz with activity; people of all backgrounds, civilian, shinobi or traveller flew through the streets, each with there own missions in mind. And this was more than true for one blonde haired youth. As sharp blue eyes shot from person to person, One Uzumaki Naruto grimaced. She had taken to the streets when Kakashi and the strange bleeding boy hadn't returned, hoping to find them. With nothing better to do, Sakura and the newly arrived Sasuke had joined her. The latter had only come along when Naruto had said that a guy around seventeen with his hair had turned up, and Sasuke couldn't quash the feeling of it possibly being Itachi; maybe the man had had a hair cut. He'd even brought his sharpest kunai's upon hearing the news. And Sakura, Sakura was just there because Sasuke was.  
Letting her eyes run around the streets, Naruto inhaled so deeply she almost swallowed Sasuke whole upon seeing a black head of hair, until she realized he was too old to be the bleeding boy. Brushing her very, very short strands of hair behind her ears and breathing in as deeply as her chest bindings would allow, Naruto let out the biggest sigh she could, stuffing her hands into her tattered pockets and pouting in disappointment. Sasuke looked at her out of the corner of his eyes, scowling and rolling the onyx orbs in such a way Naruto instantly turned on him.

"What! You think I'm lying?"

"It wouldn't surprise me, I'm shocked a dobe like you can even tell the difference between black and white, never mind identify someone!"

"That does it teme!"  
It quickly descend into a brawl of epic proportions, the two slowly managing to make their way over to the grassy verge that rested beside the street whilst Sakura screamed at Naruto to 'stop hitting Sasuke-kun!'. This only added more fuel to the fire that was Naruto, the whiskered pre-teen quickly becoming angrier and angrier that Sasuke got everything handed to him.  
And yet again, the fight ended the same way it always did; Naruto pinned to the floor with a kunai pressed to her neck, curtsy of Sasuke.

"You're such a loser." Sasuke made to get off Naruto, but the blonde girl finally lost her temper. Screw being nice to him; if Sasuke could get away with being such a pig headed idiot, so could she.

"Oh yeah, I bet you're the worst fighter in your family!"  
To say Sasuke held murder in his eyes would be an understatement. The look of pure hate he gave Naruto screamed with the promise of the apocalypse, that she would undoubtedly suffer. There was no questioning it. As the cool metal that kissed against her skin almost started to bite, there was the smallest of breezes. And then, there was a sword against Sasuke's neck.  
Both Genin froze, Sasuke's chest the only movement as it rose and fell in rapid succession. And even that ground to the halt when she felt the pure killer intent that laid heavy in the air, the kind that could only be rivalled by the fox within her. The feeling, the pressure of it pushing down heavy against her chest left her gasping for breath.  
Yet, it wasn't even aimed at her.

From where he was above her, Sasuke had become as still as a statue, his eyes so wide in fear that it couldn't possibly be healthy. His Sharingan had spun to life, rapidly turning but unable to identify the threat that'd activated it. Sweat was pouring down his brow, and yet, he still remained frozen in place.

"If you cut Naruto's throat, it will be the last thing you ever do," the threat was delivered in a low, smooth tone that held more of a promise of pain than what Sasuke's previous glare could ever hope to achieve. And then, Naruto realized that it was the stranger before her, it was the stranger that had his sword pressed to Sasuke's neck. And he looked murderous.  
In the second the teen had appeared, Sakura had somehow managed to strangle out a scream, pressing herself to the floor under the killer intent that was leaking through the air.

And this was the scene Kakashi walked in on.

* * *

From where he was sat, straddling Naruto's legs with his torso pressed up against his younger selfs back, Sasuke slowly turned his head, all for one looking completely at ease with the situation before smirking at Kakashi. The silver haired ninja just shrugged lazily, snapping his book shut and cracking out his back as he did so.

"You can get off Naruto now. Both of you." When neither Uchiha moved, Kakashi sighed, dropping back to rest against a tree and lazily pulling out a weapons pouch. "If you're waiting for Sasuke to move, I suggest putting the big, shiny sword away."  
Looking down at his younger self, Sasuke merely nodded, drawing the blade away from the oh so delicate neck before pressing it into the sheath upon his back, tugging at the black belt he was now wearing. The leather split into several sections, allowing for not only his sword to be held, but for several weapons pouches to be attached to the surface. His previous belt had all but screamed 'sound ninja' and since the Chũnin exam's clearly hadn't happened, it'd do him some good not to be associated with them from the start. He stood calmly, rolling his shoulders before offering Naruto his hand.

* * *

Holy Hokage, this guy was off the scales awesome! Staring up, Naruto blinked once in the afternoon sun, doing her very best not to leap up with joy. She'd been right; beneath all that blood and bruising, he did look a lot like an older Sasuke. His eyes were a cool black that seemed indifferent to everything, everything that wasn't her. When the onyx gems landed upon her form, she could have sworn she saw a sparkle, some kind of fondness that he held for her above everyone else, before it disappeared into the black hole that were his eyes. His hair was piratically the same too, holding that oh so familiar style in the same inky black shade, but with a few thick bangs hanging over his forehead and occasionally blowing about in front of his eyes. Naruto let her eyes trail down, taking it the high collared white shirt, short sleeves and the strange purple pants, with a blue piece of material that could only be dubbed a 'man-skirt'. Not that it didn't suit the guy, but still, to even try it on...

"Team, this is our newest member," Kakashi slapped his hands down on the elder boys shoulders, eye smiling from where he stood, only just taller than the teen. Naruto grinned up at the two, grabbing her new team-mates hand in her own as he helped her up. Her fingertips brushed against callous knuckles that felt like they'd been in too many fist fights, his grip soft but firm; there was a lot of power behind those hands.  
Brushing the seat of her pants down, Naruto looked up at the boy, beaming as she did so.

"Hi! My name's Naruto Uzumaki and I'm gonna be Hokage, believe it!"  
He smiled, ruffling her hair before hooking the hand onto his belt, stood slouched backwards ever so slightly.

"That's... Great." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kakashi send the boy a sympathetic look, his lone dark eye holding a soft understanding that Naruto failed to grasp.

"You never introduced yourself." Sakura, who'd managed to pull herself away from Sasuke for the short amount of time the question required, pointed out, cocking her head questioningly to a side as she did so. The elder teen seemed to pause, reaching one hand up to his face and brushing his bangs back from his face.

"I didn't think I'd need to Sakura. You are after-all, the smartest of our Genin unit."  
The pink haired girl faltered as her eyes finally took in the ravens appearance, eyes wide and unblinking.

"Sa...Sasuke-kun?"  
Naruto blinked, looking over at Sasuke but he didn't seemed to be the one Sakura was addressing. Instead, her fellow female seemed to be addressing-

"Correct. My name is Sasuke Uchiha."

* * *

Coal black eyes focused solely on Naruto, Sasuke forced down a smirk at the facial expressions the girl was pulling. Naruto's nose had twisted upwards, eyebrows knitting together and lips puckered as she tried to work through the facts that'd been presented before her.

"What... But I can't sense any chakra coming from you!" She paused, and in the most delicately feminine way possible -not-, inhaled through her nose before snorting like a pig as she did so. "I can't even smell you... If I couldn't see you, you'd be invisible!" Naruto hadn't quite registered that the younger Sasuke was now staring at him in disbelief, Sakura having joined him, but was splutter along. "You've got to be a super awesome ninja like Kakashi-sensei! So you're going to be another one of our sensei's!"

"No dobe, I'm still a Genin."

At that, younger Sasuke snapped out of his stupor, staring up at him I horror. "A Genin? You can't be me. It's impossible, that kind of thing is impossible."

"Tell that to the ninja's that seal tailed beasts into people."  
Naruto stiffened at his words until he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, ignoring the way she looked up at him in shock of his acceptance.

"But time-travel-"

"Is impossible? Tell that to the girl who sent me back." He gave Naruto's shoulders a meaningful squeeze, feeling her muscles tense under the soft brush of his fingertips.

"Okay team, let's not go asking about our futures," Kakashi's smooth voice broke through his thoughts and Sasuke nodded in appreciation, looking at his younger self meaningfully, "after all, we might get overconfident in the future and not take the same steps we should have done. The Third has already agreed to leave Sasuke-mirai to work. Now, let's start training!"

* * *

From where she was training with Kakashi-sensei, Sakura carefully turned her gaze to look at Sasuke-mirai as Kakashi had dubbed him. She wasn't the only one distracted; Naruto's sea blue eyes would wonder over to the training stump that the future dweller currently occupied, and even Sasuke was looking curiously at his elder self. Crushing down the feelings in her stomach, Sakura turned her attention back to Kakashi. She was behind her team-mates, and after what happened in wave, she couldn't let that continue. Naruto was improving in leaps and bounds, the blond boy couldn't just stay still and was even sparring with Sasuke by hanging upside down from a tree branch. His stamina levels were incredible and a burn of jealous settled in the pit of Sakura's stomach. If only she had those kind of levels then she could be sparring with Sasuke-kun, right were she should be... But yet...  
She carefully let her eyes slide back over to Sasuke-mirai, lips twitching down into a frown despite herself. He looked about seventeen, and even more gorgeous than he was now. He didn't wear his forehead protector on his forehead no longer, instead it hung loosely from his three laced belt, knot tied tight, giving the material no chance of falling away. One knee was pulled carelessly up to his chest, arms folded over the limb with his head resting upon the appendages. His other leg was hanging form the tree stump in such a way it gave of a causal slouch. But she could see the tense muscles that were hidden beneath his ivory skin, arms not truly relaxed like he'd lead them to believe previously. He wasn't even acting like he was relaxed, instead had just automatically assumed a position that made him no threat and the greatest threat at the same time. She could see the faint hints of Sasuke-kun, and yet... He only seemed to have eyes for Naruto. Did the blonde wrong him in the future? Had Naruto done something horrible that Sasuke-mirai couldn't forgive him for?

"Sakura, you're not paying attention," Kakashi had backhanded her non too gently, sending her flying backwards into a tree that had her gasping for breath. Sasuke-mirai didn't even look her way.

"Sorry Kakashi-sensei, it's just..."

"You want to know about your future correct?"  
Sakura nodded to the mans statement. She would give anything to know if she and Sasuke-kun ended up together, she would do anything to make her future turn out like she wanted.

"I'm sure your future will be fine," Kakashi had paused ever so slightly before his reassurance, something that Sakura had not missed and most certainly taken note of.

"Actually, she tried to kill me."  
Both shinobi froze, turning to Sasuke-mirai whom had appeared with no warning next to them. Neither Sasuke or Naruto had caught the movement either, the latter falling from the tree above them where he'd been training, only for Sasuke-mirai to catch him with little to no effort.

"WHAT?"

"Exactly what I said. I suppose I deserved it though..." He trailed off, setting Naruto back onto his feet and rubbing the blondes hair with as much fondness as a Uchiha could allow.  
Even Sasuke noticed the gesture.

"What rank would you put yourself at?" The younger raven slide his hands into his pockets, rolling his shoulders back and resting on his right leg. Sakura watched from the side, looking at Sasuke-mirai who just shrugged half-heartedly, carefully pulling his sword from his back before inspecting it for any scratches.

"I'm stronger than Kakashi, put it that way."

"If you're that good, then why did you end up out cold and bleeding all over our training grounds?"  
Sakura nodded slightly to the statement, watching the elder Sasuke. He seemed to be favouring the right side of his body when he stood; he must have taken a beating from someone if Konoha medics couldn't patch him up right away. There was a tense silence that hung in the air, even Kakashi had put his book away in order to focus upon the answer Sasuke-mirai would provide.

"By fighting someone stronger than I am."

"Then how are you alive." It wasn't a question, more of a challenge, baiting him into revealing more than he should, even as rookie Genin they could identify the tactic. And, Sakura could see by the grinding of Sasuke-mirai teeth, it was working. For what was possibly the first time today, twin coals met crimson red and the older Sasuke offered up a bitter smirk, a look of amusement in his red eyes.

"Because she fucking let me win."

* * *

**Gah, I'm sorry this took so long, I've been at work at 7 in the morning every day for the past nine days; it's destroying my soul.  
****Anyway, shorter chapter than what the original one was, but I couldn't add any more really.**

**.**

**Another point, I don't bash any characters, or at least, I do my damn best not to. I never really liked Sakura, it's only in Shippuden that I grew to appreciate her character. However, I won't be bashing her, or anyone else in this story. If you feel that what you're reading is a jab at a character, then I'm afraid that's just the way I interpret their reactions with one another.  
I'm trying to write like canon here, which is why no character will receive unfair treatment. And that includes Karin, whom I will happily admit I thoroughly enjoy reading and writing about.  
The only thing I do have a problem with is SasuSaku, so if you're ever hoping for me to write that, you're out of luck. It's just not going to happen with the events of canon. **

**.**

**Hope you like the new and improved version, if it's been rewrote, the chapter title will be 'R; Prologue' in the little drop down box.**

**Thanks for re-reading,**  
**Tsume**  
**xxx**


	4. R Chapter 3

**The Golden Ages**

Chapter 3

* * *

_Yeah, I, I know it's hard to remember  
The people we used to be  
It's even harder to picture  
That you're not here next to me_

_-Maroon 5, Payphone_

* * *

If there was one thing about Kakashi Sasuke-mirai had to truly respect, it was his perfect ploy as an uncaring, cold-hearted bastard. Within instants, he had Sasuke-mirai training with both Naruto and Sakura, forcefully pulling the younger Uchiha's attention away with the promise of a new jutsu, which Sasuke had instantly perked up at. Even if he wanted to ask about the future, it was rather obvious that Kakashi had no intention of letting him do so. Watching as the two girls geared up, ready to take him on, Sasuke gritted his teeth against saying anything. From where he could see his younger self still staring at him, Sasuke was desperately held his tongue back; he didn't want to shout, to smack the stupidity out of the boy's head. Because then the younger boy would know that his elder self was thinking of him, and any form of interest would equal training in the younger boys mind. It was all he'd been able to add things up to at that age. He wasn't here to train his younger self, hell, he didn't have any idea as to why he was here. Other than to allow Naruto to take advantage of his ninjutsu knowledge.  
Oh yes, it was still painful seeing the younger version of the girl he killed, still a stinging pain of just how similar they were. It took everything he had not to apologise about what he done, to not beg for redemption. The behaviours that were ingrained into her personality, the way she gingerly rested her hands behind her skull as she bragged about how she was going to beat him into the ground, how she would stick her tongue out at Sakura when the pinkette's back was turned, even the smile she wore.  
It was still the same.  
As Naruto ran at him, Sasuke offered her a small smirk, easily disarming the clones that came at him. Sakura was stood off to the back, hesitation evident on her face as she stared at the attacking blonde. It would only get worse when she found Naruto was a girl. Throwing the final clone above her head and off into a tree, he fell into a steady back-bend, dodging the projectiles that Sakura had thrown. Effortlessly falling into the old flipping sequence that he'd successfully pulled off against Danzo, he ended up sword drawn, Naruto's weapons flung side to side as they met the steel blade with a loud clang that rung out along the clearing.

"Naruto?"

"Yes?"  
The girl snapped to attention as Sasuke called her name; without warning the time traveller threw his sword in her direction, watching as the blonde girl dived to a side to dodge the much bigger than normal projectile. Watching as she looked up from under spiky locks, Sasuke blinked once before his stomach suddenly revolted at the sight of those eyes.

Dropping onto his hands and knees, a splutter passed his lips before the contents of his stomach made a hasty exit; limbs trembling and vision wavering and mind slowly turning to mush.

"Sasuke-mirai!" Naruto's urgent cry brought him back, head shooting up in a painful attempt to look at the girl calling to him. Orange invaded his vision once again, stomach curling yet holding no substance that could be evacuated. Thus, all Sasuke could settle upon was a bout of dry heaving, muscles screaming in protest and eye tearing from the action. His arms shock violently again, the vomit which'd left previously had covered his throat as well, leaving a burning sensation that in turn, had him gasping for breath. Unlike previously, the sensation didn't pass.

"Sasuke?"  
At the sound of Sakura's voice, so close to him, right behind him, Sasuke froze.

* * *

"_I wanna join you."  
Sneering, Sasuke turned to the pinkette, lips curled up in disgust. "And why should I believe you? Kill the girl. Then I know you'll have left the leaf." He watched as the only female of team seven made her way over to Karin, the Uzumaki lying almost lifelessly on the floor. _

_And then, the pinkette turned on him, poisoned kunai glinting in the light._

* * *

"GET AWAY FROM ME!"  
Susanoo roared to life, the purple chakra curling around his body and expanding outwards. It flared up, a snarl tearing through it's mouth as he turned on Sakura, glaring furiously and ready to force her to drop her own kunai. All the members of team seven stared in horror at the new jutsu, Sakura dropping the kunai's she had and backing away from Sasuke-mirai.  
It only took Kakashi a second to look in Sasuke-mirai's eyes to realize this was no ordinary Sharingan technique.

"Get down!" He pulled Sakura back, just in time to avoid the huge purple fist that'd been coming down on her. Sasuke-mirai wiped at the blood smearing his eyes, hissing when he brought his hands away to see the red liquid. Clearly he shouldn't be bleeding like that.

"SASUKE!" That was enough to snap the boy out of it.  
It was as if the world stopped, Naruto and Sasuke staring at one another until the burning purple chakra began to receded, slowly disappearing before there was nothing left but the hole in the ground to prove it's existence.

"What, was that?" Younger Sasuke managed to cough out, turning to the elder for answers. The power he'd felt, it'd weighed down on him in such a way that it made Zabuza's killer intent seem like nothing.

"It won't happen again... Just don't sneak up on me like that." Sasuke-mirai disappeared from sight, an obvious body flicker that even Kakashi picked up on.  
As all three of his students looked to him, Kakashi could only shrug, pocketing his hands and noting down the events to report to the Hokage. That was, if he hadn't seen the purple beast above the treetops.

"They were at war in the future... I assume it wasn't easy on anyone. Team dismissed."  
Before the Genin could walk away though, Kakashi held out his arm in front of them, staring down with his lone black eye.

"Do not go actively searching for Sasuke-mirai. That's an order."

* * *

From where she was knelt on the turf of training ground seven, Sakura couldn't even feel the tremors that ran through her body, the unmistakeable fear that was course through her veins like syrup; thick, slow and oh so difficult to dispose of. The elder Sasuke... She shook again, only now finding the ability to open her lips and throw up the vomit that'd been curling around in her mouth for the past few seconds.  
Feeling a presence beside her, Sakura turned, fearful green eyes landing upon Naruto's form. The golden haired boy didn't even seem shaken by the display of power that'd been show before.

"Are you okay Sakura-chan?" The question was soft, a low, hushed tone that she'd never heard from Naruto before. She nodded, painstakingly slowly, wiping at her tear-ridden cheeks as she did so. What Sasuke-mirai had done... It'd down right terrified her; he'd come at her with the intent to kill. If it wasn't for the helpful hand Naruto had offered her, Sakura wasn't too sure she'd have been able to get off the ground.  
There was an awkward silence between the three pre-teens as they looked at one another, curious, wavering glances as they tired to judge if one knew more than the other.

"Come on Sakura-chan, I'll take you home."  
Just like that, Naruto's voice broke the silence, still in that quiet undertone that could have been broken had the wind dared to blow. Nodding slightly, Sakura twisted her body according to the way Naruto led her, finding herself placed upon the blonds back with relative ease.

It was only once she was resting against Naruto did she realize that beneath his orange jumpsuit, he too was shaking ever so slightly.

.

As they walked, Sakura momentarily rested her head upon the orange clad ninja's shoulder, letting her eyelids flutter half closed as her thoughts whirled. Naruto shout had stopped Sasuke-mirai. Not her tearful face, not Kakashi's scream for them to got down; it'd just been Naruto, calling out the elders name. Which meant Naruto hadn't done anything wrong. It meant that Naruto was an important anchor in Sasuke's life, it meant that Sasuke, out of the three other people on team seven, listened to Naruto the most. Naruto had been the only one to snap Sasuke out of it,t he only one to make the raven focus on the here and now, and not some paranoia day-dream he'd gotten lost in... There was no way!

"Naruto? When... when you kissed Sasuke-kun, he... he didn't like it, did he?" The doubt was there, in her fragile mind, Sakura just couldn't wrap her head around the concept of her precious Sasuke-kun, the one she'd spent numerous hours a day preparing for, the one she'd spent years chasing, she couldn't accept that he was gay!  
Beneath her, she felt Naruto stiffen, before the blond suddenly lugged her a bit further up his back until she was more comfortable.

"Nada? Nee Sakura-chan, why are you thinking about that! It was an accident!"

"I'm just worried okay!" It came out as a low shout that had a few of the civilians turning to look at them, several glaring for reasons she didn't quite grasp. Naruto didn't seem to notice the looks, so absorbed in what she'd said.

"Worried? Worried about what Sakura-chan?"

"About Sasuke-kun! Sasuke-mirai... He, he listened to you. Not to me, not to Kakashi-sensei, but to you..."

"Woah woah woah Sakura-chan! I'm not gay! Even if Sasuke does swing that way, I most certainly don't! As in, I like the opposite gender!"

Letting out the sigh of relief, Sakura slouched against Naruto once again, "thank god.. I never should have doubted him! There's no way Sasuke-kun would like you anyway Naruto! He's got to be straight! Cha!"  
Naruto chuckled below her, shoulders vibrating with the noise before the finally arrived outside of the Haruno household.

"Well Sakura-chan, I'll see you at team training in morning, nee?"  
Nodding, the pinkette slipped off of Naruto's back, worries having fled and brain having almost forgotten about the previous incident at the training grounds.

"Okay Naruto, I'll see you in morning!"  
Watching as the blond walked away, Sakura couldn't help but let a small smile twist at her lips; the blond really could cheer anyone up.

* * *

Staring out at the horizon as the sun began to set, Sasuke let the air whistle out from his nose, shadowy obsidian eyes focused solely on the distant treetops. Slowly, a figure settled next to him, carefully placing their legs in front of their body before slouching back.

"Maa, if you're going to grow up like this, I don't think I'll be able to stand two of you."  
A persistent, bitter smile made it onto Sasuke's lips as he looked out over the village of Konoha, no long feeling the burning hate, the scorching need to crush the place. Instead, it was just smouldering ashes that rested in his chest, useless.

"Did I ever tell you the story of Obito Uchiha?"  
Sasuke perked slightly at the last name, reading into the underlying emotion in Kakashi's voice; a mixture of sorrow and pride.

"I've never heard of him." Sasuke's reply was blunt; he wasn't too sure if he wanted to hear another Uchiha story.

"You'll like this one, I promise."

.

And so the enticing tale of Obito Uchiha began, told for the narrative profile of Kakashi, whom clearly held nothing but respect for the goggle wearing boy right now, never mind how he'd acted previously. Sasuke... Well, Sasuke was hooked on the story, so absorbed in the fact that there had been such a Uchiha, such a Naruto like Uchiha, that he didn't realize he was becoming attached to the boy until the end of his tale; crushed to death by boulders. It made him want to run his sword through a few -okay, a lot- of Iwa ninja's.

"Obito was the one who gave me the Sharingan. He was already considered an outcast by his family, considered traitorous scum to even think about giving away his bloodline limit to anyone outside of the family."  
Sasuke suddenly felt very sick for suggesting to Kakashi that he'd stolen that Sharingan. It was like he'd fucked with Obito's memory, right in front of the one who was probably the only living person to hold respect for the dead Uchiha. More than what a hell load of others did.

"I suppose what I'm trying to say Sasuke, is that I know how it is to miss someone, and I know what it's like to struggle with blaming yourself. I know that you do, whether you realize it or not. And if you ever need to talk, I'm here."  
The man got to his feet, taking one last look at Sasuke's hunched form before feeling a sympathetic smile slowly stretch out under his mouth. He got maybe five feet away before a whisper broke the silence.

"It hurts."  
Kakashi turned to look at Sasuke, only to see the boy had drawn his legs up to his chest, arms wrapped around them and head buried in the crook of his knees.

"It feels like I can't feel anything, like it's numb, but at the same time, it's one the worst pains I've ever felt. Every person I've ever fucking cared about it gone, and it's all because they cared too much for me, more than what they should have done... It... it h-hurts..."  
The low sobs brought Kakashi back to earth; the ninja boy prodigy, the one with the disturbingly strong jutsus, was still very much human. Hesitantly, Kakashi carefully placed his arm over Sasuke's shoulder in an awkward, one armed hug from one social recluse to another. Sasuke didn't speak, but he leant back slightly against the arm, still clutching at his legs for relief.

"I... I can't picture her n-not being here... She... She was always f-following me... And I fucked it up."  
Yeah, Kakashi could defiantly relate to that.

.

It was only ten minutes later that Sasuke calmed down enough to force the tears back, to still the hiccups that'd been shaking his muscles.

"Here's what you're going to do," Kakashi murmured, placing his hands on both of Sasuke's shoulders, watching as the wayward teen eyed him in surprised, "you are going to fix everything you don't like. And do you know why? It's because that's what Naruto would have done with this power. If she didn't want some person turning out one way, she try her damn hardest to reach him before that happened. Think like Naruto Sasuke, she's clearly never led you wrong before. Now, go get some sleep."  
After a moments pause, Kakashi somehow found the strength to ruffle Sasuke's hair, much like the way Minato-sensei had done whenever he was in need of a pick-me-up.  
From the look that the raven haired teen wore, it had been the right thing to do.

* * *

**Okay, this is the last chapter that's being redone, and from now on, the story continues.**

**A big thank you to 'animechick1998' who's fanart got me writing despite my crushing art deadline. **

**.**

**Oh, to 'irked fan', you have my apologies, hopefully enough has changed here for you to read it like it's a new chapter, but there will be more coming after this, I promise. **

**.**

**As far as I'm aware, Sasuke doesn't know the story of Obito Uchiha, and in his current state right now, I think it'd hit him pretty hard to know there was a Naruto like Uchiha. Kakashi, who recognises that the boy's feeling lost at the moment, decides to tell him how he felt upon the death of Obito. **

**.**

**Hope you like the new and improved version, if it's been rewrote, the chapter title will be 'R; Prologue' in the little drop down box.**

**Thanks for re-reading,**  
**Tsume**  
**xxx**


	5. Chapter 4

**The Golden Ages**

Chapter 4

* * *

___When I pretend, I can't forget about the criminal I am  
Stealing second after second just 'cause I know I can but  
I can't pretend this is the way it'll stay I'm just  
Trying to bend the truth_

_-Linkin Park, Lying From You_

* * *

When Naruto woke up, it wasn't to the blaring sound of her alarm like normal. Instead, it was to the sound of the bird's chirping, the civilians speaking outside and the crackle of sizzling bacon. She paused upon that thought, taking a monstrous sniff of the air and scrunching up her nose in the process, Naruto let her eyebrows wrinkle in confusion at the smell of breakfast. Carefully hopping out of bed and pawing at her eyes, she silently plodded forwards, seal slippers slapping against the wooden flooring before she pulled back the curtain that separated her bed from the rest of her apartment. Stood up to her cooker, methodically flipping both bacon and eggs, was Sasuke-mirai, white apron wrapped around his torso and simple pyjama's covering his body.  
Blinking in confusion, Naruto eyed the boy, then the bag that'd been thrown upon her coffee table, and finally, the blanket that was stretched across her couch.

"You don't mind if I crash here, right?"  
Naruto spluttered, looking between the future dweller and the future dwellers new bed before letting out a big, open mouth sigh. As if on cue, Sasuke placed a rasher of bacon upon her tongue, watching as her teeth snapped shut so fast he was lucky he didn't lose a finger.

"If you keep cooking breakfast like that, you can stay for free for all I care!"  
Sasuke laughed, sharing out the bacon between plates, boiled eyes on one and fried eggs on the other before offering up the latter plate for her consumption. It was... Just the way she liked her breakfast.  
They both sat down at the table, Sasuke seemingly not bothered about the fact he'd all but invading her home. But who was to say this was his first time invading; it was just her first time being invaded. The silence was awkward. For a child such as herself, who'd been used to screaming at the top of her lungs for attention for the better part of her life, it was difficult to just sit down and enjoy another's company, even if he was her 'team-mate'. Sasuke didn't seem so bothered either, his taller, leaner frame slouched forwards slightly to accommodate for her smaller than normal table, though he didn't voice any problems about it. As a ward of the village, she didn't have much money, and clearly he didn't wish to point this out.  
Shuffling restlessly, Naruto wearily eyed the raven before biting her lip.

"When did you find out I was a girl?" She watched as his shoulders tensed slightly, fork bending in a way the steel wasn't meant to before he relaxed.

"After our first big fight. I was trying to do something stupid, you were trying to stop me doing something stupid. It... It didn't end well for both of us."

.

Sasuke had washed up, leaving Naruto with enough time to get changed that they could walk together. It still felt weird that she'd woken up before her alarm clock, but there was some form of fuzzy feeling that was undeniably due to the breakfast that'd been prepared for her. It almost felt like she had a family, a person whom she could trust with her darkest secrets, someone who she could claim with absolute certainty would always be there for her. And yet...

"Sasuke-mirai... D-do you know about it?" She carefully placed a hand upon her stomach, sending the elder Uchiha a meaningful glance. Sasuke just stared back before smirking ever so slightly, shaking his head.

"I realized just after our big fight. It never bothered me in the slightest. You were still just the dobe."

"HEY!"  
Chuckling, Sasuke held her back with one firm hand placed against her forehead, cool fingers brushing lightly against her hair and palm pressed against the metal of her forehead protector. Swinging her tiny arms wildly in an attempt to reach the Uchiha, Naruto let a little growl out of her throat at his laugh before a smile found its way onto her lips.

"Yeah? And you're still a teme."

"I know Naruto, I know."  
She looked up, eyes widening in surprise as he continued to speak regardless of the insult. People were looking now, eyeing the Uchiha crest upon his back in disbelief.

"Sasuke-mirai... What are you gonna use as a cover story?"  
Sasuke shrugged, pocketing his hands and leaning his upper torso back in such a way his bangs fell to cover his eyes, shielding him perfectly form the unnerving stares.

"The Hokage and I have already gone over it; I'm the bastard son of Fugaku Uchiha, whom had an affair as his wife was taking to long to get pregnant with his first son. I was conceived the day before Mikoto Uchiha announced herself to be five weeks pregnant, which allows me to keep my original birthday and my current age of seventeen almost eighteen. Not wanting to be socially rejected, my mother fled the village and trained me in a small village thirty miles from Konoha." He'd said it so seriously, it was clear that Sasuke didn't hold the same family issues as he younger self currently clutched at with all his strength.

"I don't think Sasuke will like that."

"It's a direct order from the Third not to reveal my cover; there's not a lot he can do about it."

* * *

Slouching backwards, Sasuke leant neatly against the railing, staring at the three Genin before him. It would be a while before Kakashi arrived yet, and he was almost sure that his younger self would start asking questions. Naruto seemed to be the only one completely at ease with his presence; Sakura now had a health dose of fear after the display of raw power the previous day, and the smaller Uchiha was looking almost borderline obsessed with him. The younger boys dark eyes were trained solely on him, attempting to intimidate him in a tactic that Sasuke hadn't bothered to use in years.

"If you've got a question, just ask already."  
Head snapping to attention, the younger Sasuke ground his teeth together, scowling with discontented and at that moment, Sasuke could see the reason Naruto had been calling him a Teme.

"Why aren't you training me?"

"Because you don't need it. You couldn't kill Itachi at his strongest."

"You never killed him?" The Teme snorted in anger, much to Sasuke's amusement, and balled his fists up so tightly that his already pale skin turned an angry shade of white.

"I never said that... Just that, I'd never have beat him at his strongest. And it was all for nothing anyway."

"What do you mean it was all for nothing?" The younger Uchiha's shout had both girls leap up into the air, startled from their own thoughts by the sudden blow from the most stoic team-mate. "What the fuck do you mean it was all for nothing! He killed the clan, he killed them all like they were nothing! And for what, to test his own power? How could it have been for fucking nothing!"

"BECAUSE HE NEVER WANTED TO DO IT!" Sasuke's voice was hoarse, a scratching scream that held a raw emotion that very few could understand. The two Uchiha's stared it off for a bit, two sets of spinning Sharingan eyes, one normal, the other distorted, glaring at one another and looking for holes. Naruto and Sakura stood tensely on the side lines, looking between one another.  
Finally, the younger caved, dropping his shoulders slightly but not relenting his sweaty grip upon the kunai he held.

"Wha-What do you mean?"

"Did you ever think to ask why he did it? Oh, sure he told you, he told you a load of bullshit that only an idiot would buy. We're ninja, we're suppose to see underneath the underneath! He lied to you! He was always so protective, why would it change? Itachi-" the younger Sasuke bristled at the name, whilst Sakura gasped in shock and Naruto snapped to attention- "hated war. He hated fighting and he hated violence. Why would he suddenly kill off his own family? He loved them, almost as much as he loved the leaf, but not as much as he loved his younger brother."

"Shut up!"

"He loved you, and he killed them because they were a threat!"

"SHUT UP!"

"You don't even know what you're talking about when you talk about him! Next time, ask him about mission kiyomeru."

* * *

When Kakashi arrived at the team meeting three hours late, he wasn't expecting such a tense atmosphere. Oh sure, he'd expected a little animosity, but not to this scale.  
It was full, brunt out war between the two Uchiha's, and from the stances of his two female's, they clearly didn't know what the hell to do calm the situation. Naruto looked too chocked up to speak, and Sakura just looked hopelessly lost, as if she'd been thrown into the deep end with no idea how to swim. Naruto just looked like she'd sunk and was choking on the seawater. And the two Sasukes, well, they looked like they'd bombed one another's battleships. Each had their arms folded and were glaring off into space in opposite directions, each with snarling frowns and clenched fists.

"Okay team, Sasuke you can come train with me, and the two ladies will be training with Sasuke-mirai for Taijutsu lessons. Now hop to it."

* * *

Sakura's brain was whizzing at a mile a minute. Her head hurt just thinking about the bust up between the two hotties on her team. She couldn't understand, what was mission kiyomeru? It was a strange name for a mission, 'to purify'... It didn't make any sense. From the way Sasuke-mirai had spoke, it clearly related to Itachi, and to the family incident that resulted in the Uchiha's demise. But... But Sasuke-mirai had acted like Itachi wasn't as mentally unstable as the Council had made him out to be. And that wouldn't add up... Why else would a man kill off his own family, other than suffering from some form of insanity? Sasuke-mirai had claimed that Itachi hated war, hated fighting... But then, why would he kill so many close to him. She was missing something from this equation, she just knew it. But what was it, what was missing?  
The train of thought was lost for at least a couple of weeks as Sasuke-mirai himself slammed a fist into her stomach, sending her flying back into a tree and leaving her gasping for breath.

"Pay attention Sakura! Enemies will take any advantage they can get, as should you. This isn't a fairy tale, this is life and sometimes there won't be anybody there to rescue you. Sometimes, you even have to be the rescuer. Which means that you need to get stronger." He said all of this whilst effortlessly fighting off each of Naruto's clones, flinging them from side to side and smirking at the satisfying puff that echoed through the air.  
Sakura made to speak, but once again, Sasuke-mirai cut her off, throwing the real Naruto into her and sending them both crashing into a tree.

"You can't rely on Naruto and Sasuke all your life! Where I came from, Sakura was a renowned medic, feared for Taijutsu that could break a man in two with a single punch. She, along with the help of a puppeteer, took down the best puppeteer that Suna had ever produced, an S-rank criminal. Now get your act together."  
The girl's green eyes were wide upon hearing the story; at first, she'd assumed she'd meant nothing to Sasuke-mirai, what with his blatant disregard. But, but he held her future self in such high regards.

"Your future self was most defiantly a threat; the more you train the quicker you'll get there and become more useful to the team."

"What was I like Sasuke-mirai?"  
There it was, that proud smile claiming Sasuke-mirai's lips and his eyes taking on a longing glint, reaching out for something he could clearly no longer have. Maybe, maybe Naruto and Sasuke were closer in the future, maybe they were best friends.

"If you were an enemy of the leaf, you were to one to watch out for. You created your own S-rank ninjutsu which destroyed the enemy if it hit, you took down countless enemies of the leaf and lead the world to victory in the war."  
Naruto's eyes became wide, bright blue and begging to know more of this splendid future. Sakura could see it already, a grown Naruto, throwing around ninjutsu like she did clones, spamming the world until only the leaf remained supreme.

"Then what happened?"

"You died."

Both Sakura and Naruto froze, eyes wide and staring at Sasuke-mirai with twin looks of horror. Only the pink haired girl dared to speak, to ask how. Sasuke just frowned, shaking his head as he did so.

"You died sending me back in time Naruto. You died so the world could be even better, so that I could fix some stupid mistakes."  
And with that, Sasuke-mirai Shunshined away.

* * *

It'd stung, lying to her like that. And it burnt the back of his throat to have to paint himself in such a glorious light that Naruto would think she'd given her life to him so he could fix the past. Because she hadn't. She's given her life up and trapped him in the past, when all he really wanted to do was die. She'd given him a new purpose, and for that reason, he didn't want her to think that he was the vile scum he was. He wanted to be trusted, he wanted her to like him again.

He just wanted his best friend back, the one who was long dead with only a shadow of herself left in her place.

* * *

**You can once again thank 'Animechick1998' as her brilliant fan art was what got be writing again, if I was losing track of what I was doing, I'd open the new picture she drew and then get right back ot work. Sorry for any mistakes. **

**.**

**WARNING, I am form ENGLAND and my spelling will be different for words such as colour to color. Sorry, but I'll write how I was taught, I'm tired of getting PM's that say my spelling is crap. Most is typos, the rest is country differences. **

**.**

**Yeah, some hard hitting for Sakura and Sasuke, but hey ho, they needs it. **

**.**

**Thanks for re-reading,**  
**Tsume**  
**xxx**


	6. Chapter 5

**The Golden Ages**

Chapter 5

* * *

___I wish I knew then  
What I know now  
Wouldn't dive in  
Wouldn't bow down  
Gravity hurts  
You made it so sweet  
Till I woke up on  
On the concrete  
_

_-Katy Perry, Wide Awake_

* * *

_Skin peeling, an eerily glow, the potential to lose everything that ever meant anything, even with it slowly approaching. _

"_You don't have to forgive me, no matter what you decided to do from now on," a faint thump as foreheads knocked together, "I will love you forever!"_

* * *

Sasuke woke in a cold sweat, clutching at the blankets that'd once protected him from the chill of the night air but now just trapped his own perspiration against him. Kicking the material off, the Uchiha curled forwards on himself, resting his head between his knees and breathing in and out at a steady, even pace. Or as steady as he could considering the flashback that was currently plaguing every corner of his thoughts. Itachi's eyes -one a lifeless grey that saw nothing, the other, twisted shape of his advanced Sharingan- were burnt into his brain, the calm acceptance of all that'd come to pass held inside those orbs had scared him at the time; it still did scare him. Taking a deep breath in, the Uchiha held it until his lungs started burning and his brain screamed for oxygen. Over by the wall, Naruto was still asleep, her young, twelve year old body twisted around the sheets in awkward, so typically Naruto angles that he had to look away. She deserved better than the crappy hand she'd gotten in life, and no matter how hard he tried, he could only change so much.  
Staring at the girls peaceful face, Sasuke felt something ugly twist inside of him, knotting itself around in his stomach until it was a permanent feature, heavy and stone like that rested, hidden away behind his torso. He wanted to kill her. To wrap his hands around her neck and keep pressing down until the life drained from her face. He wanted her to suffer for forcing him to live through this, for forcing him to live with his kind of mentality alone. But she wasn't the same girl. One part of his brain tried to reason with him, tried to reason that the two girls in his mind weren't two, instead two halves of the same whole. The more rational part of his mind dictated that they were different, different in age and in the mistakes they'd committed. They were different.

More pressure suddenly overcame his body and Sasuke had to get out. He left the apartment so quickly that he found himself at a loss of where to go, just following his feet through the rooftops he'd never travelled before, yet they felt so painstakingly familiar. He'd never ran them in his Genin days, and he hadn't been back since then. He didn't want to think about Naruto, didn't want to think about where this desire to suddenly end her life had come from. Instead, he kept walking, kept moving in the opposite direction from Naruto and her not so safe apartment.

.

The night's sky was clear, like something out of a picture with the amount of starlight that littered what should have been a blank, black canvas. From Tobi's base, you couldn't see the stars, only dark clouds. It had matched the mans dark mind. It had matched his own dark mind.  
Clutching at his arms, Sasuke carefully shook his head before letting his gaze trail down from the sky to the graveyard in front of him. It was the complete opposite of any horror movie; the moon was low in the clouds, but it didn't cast an eerie glow. There was a light humidity in the air, but it didn't settle in a thick layer of mist. Dropping to his knees, Sasuke reached out, brushing his rough fingertips against the smooth garnet that signified where his parents ashes lay beneath him. Nine years ago, he'd been told that his parents had been burnt to stop other villages finding the secrets of the Sharingan should they invalid. Nine years later, he knew that the leaf had taken his parents and other Uchiha's bodies, Danzo had plucked their eyes from their skulls, and then they'd been burnt. His own village had done exactly what they'd promised to protect him from. Yet there was no burning pain in his stomach, no cries for revenge. Instead, it rested inside of him like a frozen block of ice, an icy hate that would never thaw, but promised not to burn unless you were to purposely rub up against it. No longer did the unpredictable fire dance around inside him, no longer was his hate what it'd once been. And, he found that this felt oh so much more dangerous.

* * *

When Sasuke went to see his parents grave in the morning, the last thing he'd been expecting was for his older self to be curled up on the grass, sheltered beneath the headstone that proclaimed the previous clan leader rested there. His clothes clung to his frame, the early morning rain clearly not cold enough to wake what Sasuke saw as a cold hearted killer. He'd felt the full extent of that killer intent, he'd felt the pressure of the blade against his neck and how very close he'd come to getting killed by himself. Obviously Naruto played a very important role in his future, maybe even helping his find Itachi. Because there was no way that the dobe would help kill that man. He'd never let that happen, Itachi was his kill.  
As if sensing his thoughts, his elders eyes snapped open, twisted Sharingan with odd six pointed star and the other black twist in three of the six points stared back, unblinking. He froze, eyes widening the slightest before realizing that these weren't Itachi eyes that were staring back at him, they were his own eyes, his future eyes.

"What are you doing here?" Even if it was himself, Sasuke had a right to be territorial; this was Uchiha land and he was the only Uchiha on register right now. Oh, he heard about the elders cover, the fact he could move into his house any day, but Sasuke knew he wouldn't. Just like he, his elder self clearly had a goal that he wanted to accomplish. He just wanted to know what it was.

"Paying my respects. Have you got a problem with that?" There it was, the foul feel of chakra laced the air, daring him to say anything out of line, demanding he back down. Shaking off the feeling, Sasuke pocketed his hands, eyes tracking the elder as he sat up, rubbing lazily at his head. There was another vast contrast; whilst he felt himself to be ridged and uptight, keeping everyone away from him, this Sasuke clearly had no issues on how people looked at him. He wasn't the Uchiha with something to prove, he was the Uchiha that'd defeated his elder brother, had brought glory to the Uchiha name and fixed everything in his life. He was the Uchiha that was more than happy to let a dobe into his life, to teach him and his other useless team-mate. He was the Uchiha that ignored his younger self. And Sasuke didn't like that.

"Why are you ignoring me! Why aren't you teaching me?"

"Because you don't need it."  
Sasuke stopped, head snapping back in shock and staring down at the strange eyes before him. No, it wasn't just the eyes that were strange, this entire person felt like a stranger to him. He felt like a stranger to himself.

"What?"

"You don't need it," elder Sasuke's tone was calm, his voice soothing and it sounded like all the fight had left his body, seeped out into the ground as he'd laid at the foot of his parents grave, "you're strong enough right now to face what's coming. Their not. Naruto, she's had a hard life."

"She?" Sasuke prided himself on his mind, and whilst Sakura may not have picked up on it the previous day, Sasuke hadn't missed what Kakashi had called the two of them. 'Ladies' he'd called them, and whilst he previously been more than happy to pass it off as an insult to Naruto's fighting abilities, he'd filled the information away regardless. Apparently it was a good job he'd done so.

"Yes, Naruto is a girl. Sit down. Now that I look back on it, things would have been easier if I'd known she was a girl." Sasuke-mirai tapped the spot beside him and after a slight hesitation, Sasuke dropped beside him, knees pulled up to his chest and elbows rested atop them. The elder Uchiha was sat with crossed legs, hands resting in his lips and looking like he was the most peaceful person in the world. But Sasuke knew appearances were deceiving; look at the loving brother/clan slayer.

"From the day Naruto was born, she was given a gift and a curse. Something that granted her untold power, but also cost her any friends or family for the first twelve years of her life. We are the first people she truly trusts aside from the Hokage. He was the only one that ever cared to go out of his way for her. She can not access this power, but feels the backlash of it every day. People hate what's inside her, they're scared of it. I've seen what she holds inside her, the first time I ran into it, she was only using a handful of it's power. I barely made it out of their alive. I had no disillusion I won that fight; she pulled back at the last second. The kind of power that can level cities, the kind that's almost impossible to control, that's why she's hated by the village. Try and make it easier on her,; Naruto's one of the most resourceful people I've ever met. Don't give her up for anything. If there's anyone you want on your team, it's her."  
Sasuke-mirai stood, biting on his lip before carefully poking Sasuke in the forehead, the younger's eyes widening at the familiar gesture. "Look after her. Or I'll have to kill you. And that's a promise."

.

Sasuke spent the next hour before the team meeting training, trying to come to the realisation that his elder self held Naruto in high regard, and that Naruto was in fact female. His fists shook, anger coursing through his veins over the fact he'd never noticed before. Was it any wonder why she'd never joined them when Kakashi had invited them to the bathhouse? He had to admire her guts though; to pass off as a boy, to learn with the boys and keep up with them -well, sort of- in order to get out of the kunoichi classes on flowers; he could respect that. What he couldn't handle was the fact he hadn't noticed, which meant he was no where near Itachi's level. Another stinging reminder, yet again.  
Punching at the log, Sasuke grimaced before wiping the sweat off his brow. Maybe stopping ten minutes early was better. Naruto was always the first one at the team meeting, and with any luck -and if what his elder self said was true- then she'd agree to a spar, put herself to good use. Having brushed a towel across his forehead, he turned, heading home with the full intent of beating Naruto to a pulp. Girl or not, she was his rival, and she was going down. If he hadn't been so absorbed in his thoughts, he might have felt the heavy stare that rested upon his back.

* * *

Itachi Uchiha was confused. This in itself was a rarity of the highest kind. Yet he couldn't quite find any flaws in the story that'd been presented before him. Just two hours previously, he'd been looking at a teen, curled up in front of his parents grave with dried tracks of tears having set on his cheeks. He doubted that the boy even realized he'd been crying. Not that he really looked like a boy, he seems very much the same age as Itachi himself. And that was, unsettling. He was almost one-hundred percent sure that Fugaku had never even thought about cheating on his mother, and yet, here was a Uchiha that he'd never seen before. He was the right age, his story fit, and yet, everything felt so very off to him. Sasuke hadn't mentioned him by name, but it obvious the boy recognised him as a Uchiha, there'd have been uproar had he not.  
Letting his eyes follow his little brother out of the clearing, Itachi felt around for the other Uchiha, grinding his teeth together. From the way they'd interacted, it was obvious that the elder boy cared for Sasuke, yet he'd threatened to kill him should anything happen to Konoha's Jinchūriki. Which was something Itachi didn't understand. This boy shouldn't have been in the village long enough for him to form a bond strong enough to threaten family over. Yet he had just done so.  
Which meant that this Uchiha knew about Naruto's status as a Jinchūriki -highly unlikely- or he was trying to push both Sasuke and Naruto together, with was more probable. Itachi was no fool, he knew that Kushina had birthed a baby girl, Mikoto had been overjoyed when she learnt that fact. But then the question rose of why this boy was doing it. This boy that shared his brothers name but was closer to his own age, this boy that was one moment looking out for family but then threatening it...  
Standing, the nuke-nin nibbled at the dango that was currently clutched in his right hand before disappearing, ready to tell his Leader that Orochimaru was most certainly in place, and that there would be a chance to capture the Jinchūriki. Not that he'd let them take Naruto himself.

But thankfully, it seemed to blonde had gotten herself a pretty good protector beside her sensei.

* * *

**Yes indeed, lots of talk-no-jutsu, and Itachi! I believe he would have come to check up on Sasuke every so often, and with Akatsuki and their sleeper agents, I'm sure they'd have one in Konoha, hence Itachi's 'offical' information. And he's not the type to rush in, more the type to sit back and watch it play out. **

**.**

**Updates are coming slower due to a pressing art deadline, but they should be picking up shortly after 5th of July, which is my deadline. **

**.**

**Thanks for reading,**  
**Tsume**  
**xxx**


	7. Chapter 6

**The Golden Ages**

Chapter 6

* * *

___I've seen that frustration  
Been crossed and lost and told "No"  
And I've come back unshaken  
Let down and lived and let go  
So you can let it be known  
I don't hold back, I hold my own_

_- Linkin Park, Lost In The Echo_

* * *

Sasuke crouched low on the tree branch, multicoloured eyes staring out behind the leaves and focusing on the three pre-teens that were oblivious to his presence. He knew today was Chũnin exam announcement day, and he also knew that today would be the day Gaara saw Naruto for the first time. When it came to Gaara, Sasuke wasn't sure what to think. Previously, he'd respected the mans skill, but had hated him over the fact he'd spoken to Danzo and was allied with the leaf. Looking down at his headband, Sasuke sighed. He couldn't really hate the red-head now, not when he'd rejoined the village and not when he didn't have any plans to dig up and burn a few roots. At least, not at the present moment.  
However, he could still dislike Gaara if the boy even so much as looked at Naruto the wrong way.  
Hanging his legs over the thick bark of the stump, Sasuke watched as Kakashi approached, head ducked down into his precious book and eye calm. He held out a registration form, the paper clutched above his head and putting him just out of the firing line. Sasuke threw a kunai, watching as the paper hit the tree with a satisfied 'thunk'. Kakashi didn't even blink. As he made is way over to collect the paper, Sasuke took one last look at the team of three, critical eyes watching the way Naruto and Sasuke interacted. His younger self did appear to be putting some form of effort in, which was something he could accept. He was stubborn, but with the right initiative, Naruto would crack him open like a walnut. All she needed was the correct tool to break him open.  
Sakura was sat on the sidelines, her eyes narrowed at the way Sasuke no longer seemed to have a problem with Naruto. The girl was without a doubt suspicious, and Sasuke was damn sure she'd catch on come the second round of the Chũnin exams. But, that was to worry about later.  
Might as well let Naruto get the head-start she'd need to crack open the Uchiha boy, he just wished she'd gotten the opportunity before back in his past, before his own defences had become harder than steel.

.

He'd planned on spending the day shadowing Naruto. However, now he found himself stood beside the only other Uchiha in Konoha, nibbling on the sickeningly sweet dango that Itachi had loved so much. Honestly, he'd never had the stomach for anything sweet, most of the time it only came with lots of sugars and calories that wouldn't have fit into the diet of an active ninja -unless you were Naruto who had a fox burning anything she didn't need- but the idea of it had him feeling that much closer to Itachi.  
The younger Uchiha looked up at him, something resembling a grimace and a snarl wrapped up in an attempt at subtle graced his lips, though with his narrowed eyes it wasn't hard to guess why. Every since Itachi's 'betrayal', he'd never so much as looked at dango, never mind eaten one.

"I asked the Hokage about mission kiyomeru."  
Nodding to himself, Sasuke pulled the last doughy ball off the stick, doing his best not to let his face twist up. It wasn't a sour lemon, but for the feel it left on his tastebuds, it might as well have been.

"He seemed a bit taken about that I knew the name before he told me it was classified." The younger Sasuke pouted, looking up accusingly from under his brows as if demanding to be filled in on the basics. Mentally, Sasuke weighed up his options. He could either tell his younger self it was a mission, thus stopping the drive that'd sent him to Orochimaru, yet set him upon the council, or he could leave him in the dark till Itachi's return.

"Was it one of that man's missions?"

"Yes, it was one of Itachi's missions. It was the mission that forced him to close off his heart for the greater good. Those kinds of missions, they'd break almost everyone..." His younger self seemed to accept the answer for now, but it was rather obvious he was going to be doing so more digging at a later period of time.

"Where are we going anyway?"

"I am going to help Naruto, you are just following me around like a lost puppy hoping to learn something."  
Little Sasuke scowled but complied, following after his elder self as they both leapt up into a nearby tree.  
The two carefully shifted, settling themselves against the bark; Sasuke crouched like a jungle cat whilst his younger counterpart leaned against the tree trunk, one legs supporting him whilst the other rested against the bark.

"What are we doing here anyway? It's not like Naruto needs a bodyguard."  
Sasuke snorted, unable to help himself as he watched the Thirds grandson come dashing around the corner.

"You'd be surprised how wrong that statement is. However, right now, we are here to meet the future Kazekage. He's a Genin at the moment."  
His younger self stared. And stared a bit more. Eye twitching.

"What?"

"Yes, in three short years, he goes onto become the youngest Kage in history, but let's not dwell on that. Right now, you need to be learning." Reaching out a long limb, Sasuke pressed the younger boy down till he too was hidden behind the leaves, positioned in an awkward crouch.

"Why are we hiding from this guy then? Are you not strong enough to beat him."  
Sasuke laughed, a short, bitter sound that had the younger Uchiha narrowing his eyes.

"No, I can beat him with ease. But we are not hiding from him, we are hiding from Naruto. This is something she can do herself. Just watch."

* * *

Twisting his lips up in annoyance, Sasuke peered at his elder self from the corner of his eye. So, there was a Genin, somewhere near their age, who'd go on to become a Kage in three years? Grimacing, he let his eyes wonder down to the Sand Genin that was currently holding up the brunette brat. Yeah, there was no way he'd make Kazekage. The girl maybe, she was old enough but it was doubtful; she seemed too full of herself. Which left the last missing member of this Sand team. Eyes scanning the nearby surroundings, Sasuke caught Sasuke-mirai's appreciative nod from beside him, a gesture that assured him that he was doing the right thing.

"BASTARD!"  
Both Sasuke's looked up at Naruto's scream, whilst Sasuke felt like slapping the dobe, Sasuke-mirai just chuckled humourlessly under his breath, shaking his head before running a hand through his hair.

"Watch, this is how you intimidate someone." Standing up, Sasuke-mirai carefully drew a set of shuriken from his weapons pouch, flexing his fingers before snapping his wrists back. One second, the sand Genin was man-handling a civilian, the next, he was pinned against the fence by his clothing, metal stars holding the cloth in place.

"Oi," Sasuke-mirai called down, hands buried into his pockets and a teasing smirk plastered across his face, "if you're going to attack a civilian, and a kid at that, then it's well within my rights as a ninja of Konoha to beat you to a bloody pulp."

* * *

Naruto's head snapped up to look at the voice before a fond smile made it's way across her face. Sasuke-mirai! The two Sand Genin looked over as well, the brute having been forced to drop Konohamaru when the shuriken hit him.

"I told you didn't I Kankurō!"  
The girl with the sandy blonde hair snapped before her eyes turned back to look at Sasuke-mirai. Only, now there were two. Sasuke himself was stood next to his carbon copy, both Uchiha's glaring down at the Sand ninja, one with the obvious sign of annoyance, the other with a cool stare that promised pain should his threat not be followed through.

"They're both kinda cute..." Naruto's acute hearing easily picked up on the mumble that the girl let slide past her lips and she glared protectively. That was her brotherly figure! Sasuke-mirai wasn't free for dating, he was too busy training her! She didn't realize a growl had slipped from her throat and into the air until Sakura stared at her weirdly.

"Gah, stupid Sasuke, always showing me up!"  
The pinkette seemed to accept the explanation whilst Naruto felt herself deflate in relief.

"And if you call my team-mate a runt again," Sasuke sneered, lifting up a kunai and gesturing at Kankurō's frozen body, "then you'll answer to me."

"That's enough."

* * *

Gaara narrowed his eyes, staring at the two boys in front of him, one older than the other. Yet they seemed to be a perfect carbon copy of one another, clones in everything but age. And they were skilled too, to stop Kankurō like that.

"You're an embarrassment to our village Kankurō."

"Bu-"

"Shut up, or I'll kill you." Mother growled from within him as he locked eyes with the eldest. The younger boy seemed shocked by his sudden appearance; the elder hadn't even blinked.

"Gaara of the Desert."  
Body flickering to the ground, Gaara looked up at the elder, nodding in acknowledgement of his name. Deep within his consciousness, mother screamed for blood, for the raven's blood, for it too pool at his feet as his body was crushed between his sand.

"And you are?"

"Sasuke Uchiha." They both answered, much to Gaara's annoyance.

"But you can call me Sasuke-mirai." Future Sasuke?  
The red head didn't frown, didn't allow any facial expression to break free no matter how much he wanted answers. He could get them in the Chũnin exam, and then, he would crush him like all the others.

"Hey, don't you want to know my name?"  
Without even turning, Gaara grunted a half-hearted 'no', leading his team away.

He would be seeing Sasuke-mirai in the exams. And there would be blood, one way or another.

* * *

**Sorry it's so short, but I couldn't really see anything to add onto this. I'm struggling to write a bit at the moment, but hey ho.  
This chapter will hopefully be getting beta'd at a later date, so if it's done by the next chapter I'll update the newer one at that time. It'll just be correcting mistakes, so it's not a re-read thing. **

**And if you've got time, mind voting on my poll?**

**.**

**CHAPTER QUESTION;**

**Anyone ever got a crush on a 'popular boy'? How'd you go about attracting him? (_Yes, this is relevant to the story_)**

**.**

**Thanks for reading,**  
**Tsume**  
**xxx**


	8. Chapter 7

**The Golden Ages**

Chapter 7

* * *

_bury it_  
_I won't let you bury it_  
_I won't let you smother it_  
_I won't let you murder it_

_our time is running out_  
_our time is running out_  
_you can't push it underground_  
_you can't stop it screaming out_

_- Muse, Time Is Running Out_

* * *

Leaning back on the balls of his feet, Sasuke let a cheerful tune escape his lips, smirking over at the first leaf team to be eliminated. It wasn't their fault they ended up with Kabuto as a team-mate; just like it wasn't Sasuke's fault that the white haired traitor in question was currently strung up by his ankles in front of Ibiki. Oh, it was most certainly not his fault at all.  
Unable to help the smallest of smirks that stretched across his lips, Sasuke allowed his eyes to slowly sweep over the nearby crowd taking in the appearance of all enemy nin. To think, once upon a time they'd intimidated him, now they were all sending his weary glances, shuffling from foot to foot. He'd already noticed numerous sensory ninja attempting to get a reading on him, Karin among them. Frowning at the thought of the Uzumaki he'd so coolly betrayed, Sasuke scowled ever so slightly, already knowing what Naruto would have wanted him to do.

Slipping through the crowds with the smooth flow of a high class nin, the elder Uchiha appeared by the red-head almost instantly, flicking the girl on the back of her ear as he did so.

"HEY!" Predictable as ever, the red-head rounded, nostrils flaring and a snarl on her face. Then she stopped, staring up at the handsome teen before her. Her salmon pink eyes went round and she tipped her glasses back slightly, mouth almost hanging open in the most unattractive of ways.

"You're an Uzumaki, aren't you?" Surprised to find himself almost amused at the current situation, Sasuke flicked the girl in the forehead, smirking as he did so.

"In a moment, a blonde haired girl posing as a boy is going to come in screaming her lungs off; don't blow her cover."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because she'd an Uzumaki too."

* * *

Karin frowned as she thought. And she thought deeply, hence the severity of her frown. Flicking the blood red strands of her hair back from in front of her face, the Uzumaki began toying with her lip, scraping the tough skin between pearl like teeth in annoyance. Her eyes darted over to the figure that was the cause of her current state of confusion, her line of vision hidden thanks to the way the ceiling's lighting was reflecting from her glasses. Resting against the southern wall, the Konoha Genin was slouched, shoulders curved inwards and thumbs hooked onto the strangest of belts. A sword and sheath rested in the second loop of material, within reaching ease of the teen's right hand. Now, the boy was older than her, by at least three years, but that wasn't what was annoying Karin the most. What annoyed her the most was the way his chakra had reacted to her. It had swirled about in welcome, almost like it knew her. And she knew chakra was never wrong. However, she had never met him before. Yeah, she'd defiantly remember a face like that. And that body. Without a doubt, she wouldn't have forgotten him.  
Scowling, she slumped further into her seat, doing her best to ignore the two bulky team-mates she'd been assigned for the Genin exams. Orochimaru had snuck her into the exam along with the two numbskull's from grass; he didn't want Sound's numbers looking too big so he was running a few of his subordinates in through their ally; the grass village. There was suppose to be some big invasion happening in the future of this exam, so she was naturally on her toes. The amount of people wasn't helping either. There was far too much chakra in the room. She ignored the fact most of it was coming from the strange raven teen that'd warned her. Although a good portion was coming from the red-head Suna ninja in the corner, but she had expected and already accounted for that; Orochimaru had already informed on Gaara's Jinchūriki status, just in case she started asking uncomfortable questions during the exam.  
Eyes fluttering over to the dark haired boy again, Karin relented and released the sigh she'd been holding in. His chakra was a swirling, dazzling mass of power, yet it felt so damningly cold, the kind she wouldn't dare approach no matter how much it tried to entice her in.

Almost like a break in the grey clouds, the sunniest chakra she'd ever had the pleasure of sensing came bursting into the room, the sheer amount shaming even the Suna Jinchūriki. In an instant, the red heads eyes were glued to the sight before her, and it was just like the boy had said. A blonde haired girl so obviously dressed up as a boy was stood, inspecting the room with narrowed eyes and a frown on her face.

"Don't draw attention to yourself."  
Karin froze, slowly feeling out with the mind's eye of the Kagura technique for the chakra behind her. Even though she already recognised the voice.

"You're working for Orochimaru. I know this already, and I know what he's planning. Follow me, and you won't have to die in this."  
The world around her had slowed, blurring like a sea mist had descended upon the room. Genjutsu.

"Don't break the jutsu, or you'll make me angry. And as you can tell from my chakra, I won't hesitate to flatten you if I think you're a threat to her."  
Nodding cautiously, Karin took a step forwards before turning to look at the teen. He'd crossed the room full of people in less than the second she'd been looking at the blonde girl, one sure hand resting upon the hilt of his sword as he sat atop the table.

"My name Karin, is Sasuke Uchiha. I'm from the future, where, long story short, I killed Orochimaru, killed my brother, killed Naruto -the girl over there- and then got sent back in time by her. That's why I'm here. If you do as I say, then not only will you live, quite comfortably might I add, but you'll be with quite possibly the last member of your family alive. Are you in? Because I need someone of your skill."  
It made sense, explained why his chakra knew hers, why it was so friendly towards her despite it's otherwise cold exterior. There was a small warmth hidden deep inside, nestled under layers of ice that were slowly thawing out.

"Well?" The elder Sasuke stood, frowning at her as he did so. He'd lent forwards at the waist ever so slightly, one eyebrow raised and questioning smirk on his face.

"I accept," Karin murmured, blushing ever so slightly as the attractive teen got a bit too close than what most would consider comfortable.

"Good. Thank you Karin. I'll notify you in the second exam on what we'll be doing."

* * *

As the Genjutsu around Karin loosened, Sasuke smirked and stuffed his hands into his pockets. He hadn't doubted the red-head, it wasn't that much of a shock she'd switched to his side. A few perfectly placed manipulative words, a special fluctuation in his chakra and she was instantly hooked, just like last time.

"Hey! Sasu!"  
The smug smirk that'd occupied his face instantly dropped into a thunderous scowl at the childish nickname Naruto had bellowed across the room. Disappearing in whirl of leaves and reappearing beside the blonde teen, he slapped a hand over her mouth, lower his head just so his lips were by her ear.

"Do you want every Genin here after your ass Naruto? If not quiet down." Slowly pulling a hand back from the girls mouth, he pinched her lips together when they moved to speak, unable to help the grin as the girl pouted. His younger self was looking at him in annoyance, arms folded across his chest but an amused brow raised at the sight before him.

"Now listen, this exam will be a written test. True that memorising facts is not that important for a ninja unless you count remembering the missions orders, but that's not what this test is about. This is about information gathering, the kind that doesn't include being caught."  
The three Genin blinked at him owlishly and Sasuke allowed himself a moment to roll his eyes in sheer fondness of their naivety.

"I was going to let you sweat it out like I had to myself, but the chances that I've effected your psychological being with my mere presence are too big to ignore, and I can't fix the problems here without you." '_Namely killing off Orochimaru_' Sasuke mused, looking down at his younger self as he did so. Oh yes, the boy was quite possibly the best bait he could have asked for.  
Orochimaru would be smushed under his Susanoo soon enough. Like the insect he was.

* * *

From where he was sat off to the side of the room, Itachi soundlessly tapped his pen against the clipboard he'd been assigned, doodling the image of his mother meditating in the top corner of the paper. Of course he was under a genjutsu so heavy that if it were a physical object not even Might Guy could lift it, but it still didn't make him feel any safer. Being in Konoha made his twitchy, even though he'd never show it. It dug up painful memories that he'd rather leave buried deep within the cities foundations, sealed away tighter than the nine tailed demon fox.  
Speaking of the fox, Itachi let his coal eyes slide over to the blond container who was currentlystaring down at the paper intently. Oh, he'd already seen through her henged clones; a rather impressive way of cheating, for they could quite easily just pop once they had the necessary information. Not only did this cause mass confusion amongst the other Genin, but the examiners couldn't track the henged shadow clone down to the original.

Allowing the smallest of smirks to cross his face, Itachi flicked a kunai into the desk of a Genin that was being blatantly obvious in his cheating; so focused in getting the answers that the kunai even managed to skewer his sleeve to the desk.  
As Ibiki ran the numbers off, Itachi sighed and began lightly doodling a young, innocent Sasuke onto the top of the paper he wouldn't be returning, frowning to himself as he did so. The weight of someone's stare rested upon him and Itachi rolled his eyes, dark bangs hiding the action from those around him.

After five minutes of flat out staring, the Uchiha murderer looked up, eyes locking onto the form that was currently harassing him. Wide black and red eyes stared back, twisted all out of what should have been a Sharingan and forced into a curved six-point star-burst. The kind of Sharingan that could see through the haze of his Genjutsu. This was why he hadn't felt safe, because there was someone with his eyes staring back at him. The other Uchiha, the other Sasuke.  
Throwing a shadow clone into his place, Itachi fled under the cover of a Genjutsu with enough sedative to knock out an elephant, eyes darting over his shoulder only to notice his 'half brother' had copied his movements and was now streaking after him, tears in his eyes.

Darting across the rooftops, Itachi wasn't quite expecting to be tackled from behind; clearly this Uchiha was faster than he was.

"Please Itachi! I just wanna talk!"  
He froze, turning his head to look up at the teen that'd tackled him to the floor. There was far too much of his mother face in this boy for them to not be related and Itachi swallowed the lump in his throat.  
Twin saltly tears dropped onto his cheeks, yet they were not his own. Wearily glancing up at the boy that was an elder Sasuke, Itachi bit his lip, hesitant.

"Otouto?"

* * *

**Yo, sorry this has took so long. I got depressed over my poor exam results.  
I've had a problem you see; about two days ago, I spilt Lucozade -an English energy drink- all over my laptop's keyboard, so not only are my keys very sticky, the spacebar is very picky about when it actually does it's job. Hence, this took longer to write than usual. On the plus side, my laptop smells of cherries now.**

**Song is a reference to Itachi's memories by the way.**

**And Kit that is a very cute story, if only he'd noticed you.**

**.**

**Please vote in the poll?**

**.**

**Thanks for reading,**  
**Tsume**  
**xxx**


	9. Chapter 8

**The Golden Ages**

Chapter 8

* * *

_But you don't know where you're going_  
_And you won't tell me_  
_For fear I'll follow suit_  
_And you're tryin' to save me_  
_From your past of bad decisions_  
_But my decision's always gonna be_  
_To follow you, To follow you_

_- The Script, Glowing_

* * *

Sasuke stared. And stared a bit more. He knew Itachi had been looking out for him. He knew that his elder brother had always been there, shadowing almost all of his entire life whether he'd know it or not. But to see him so clearly watching over him. He felt his stomach do another flip, preforming the same acrobatics routine that it'd fell into when he'd first seen him in the examination room.

"Nii-san," he murmured, unable to help himself as he pushed his face into Itachi's shoulder, ignoring the fact they were the same hight and age now. When he felt the hesitant, but comforting hand of his brother carefully stroking at the back of his head, Sasuke grabbed the elder by the shoulders, hugging as tightly as her dared.  
They remained that way for a grand total of thirty four seconds before Sasuke realized he was in fact crushing his brother. Backing up onto the rooftops and pulling his legs up to his chest, the time-travelling Uchiha allowed his brother to sit up, wincing when Itachi cracked out his back.

"You are Sasuke...And you know the truth... A time-travel jutsu?"  
He nodded, watching as Itachi's eyes narrowed, calculating the possibilities.

"A seal, one of Jiraiya's and powered by the greatest tailed beast of all time."  
Itachi nodded, resting his head between his knees and hugging his legs to his chest.

"I'm sorry Sasuke."

"I know Itachi... I know."

.

It took a good half an hour to explain the entire story to Itachi, and even then he was cutting out some of the less important pieces of information. Such as the fact he'd gone ever so slightly off the deep end, and was still trying to climb the cliff face back up to sanity.

"I assume that you will be finding a way to expose the truth about the Uchiha massacre... And I can not talk you out of it..."  
He nodded, bangs flickering in front of his face as he looked up at Itachi. The elder male still had the same characteristic tear troughs carved deep into his face, yet his cheeks weren't as gaunt as when they'd fought to the death. Maybe there was hope for him yet.

"Of course... It'll be some time after the exam, though I highly doubt that Akatsuki will let you go so willingly... I don't know much about Pein or Madara, but I'll come up with a plan somehow... Can you do some recon without giving anything away?" He knew it was completely possible for Itachi to pull it off, it was a stupid question asked just to be polite. And at his brothers proud smile that was dancing along the line of a smirk, Itachi knew it too.

"Of course Otouto... It it quite odd though, having two little brothers now."  
Sasuke smirked, forcing himself up to his feet before pocketing his hands.

"Yeah well, it's weird you being alive. Maybe we should spar some time?" Looking down at his brother, Sasuke took note of the high cheekbones, the small amount of puppy fat the remained amongst them despite the Uchiha almost hitting his eighteenth year. Rubbing at his own still slightly rounded cheeks, Sasuke took careful note of Itachi's particularly bony frame, just hidden beneath lean muscle and baggy clothing.

"That we should Sasuke, that we should." Itachi knelt, halfway to rising, only to stop when he felt a pressure upon his forehead. He looked up, staring at the two fingers that were currently pressing against his skull and the bitter-sweet smirk that Sasuke wore.

"Maybe next time Itachi."

Staring after his younger, time-travelling brother as he leapt away on the roof tops, the elder Uchiha allowed a dry chuckle to slide past his lips, nodding along to his brothers parting, "And go eat some dango or something!"

* * *

Watching an amused smile, Sasuke rolled his eyes in fondness of the scene before him. Naruto was just so loud and ignorant at this age it was almost adorable. No, it was. Another thing he'd noticed was Anko Mitarashi was a very fine example of a kunoichi. At their first meeting, and every single one after that, he'd been too focused upon his goals. But now that he stood back a bit, he could quite happily say that she had curves in all the right places. And the fishnet shirt defiantly helped in that department. She turned, as if feeling his lingering eyes, and threw a kunai at him. The blade sliced past his cheek, a shallow cut forming in the wound and he smirked, already knowing what would happen. The very same thing she'd done in a previous time-line to Naruto. Instantly, she was behind him, licking up the blood in a way that'd have turned a lesser man to putty.

"Such a pretty face, but in the exam all on your own? You should know better than to go eyeing up other ninja's, especially the ones that could kill you in a heart-beat."  
Snorting, Sasuke angled his head back ever so slightly, well aware of his younger self looking on in disgust.

"Please, I'm sure I could handle the two of you." He watched in remote interest as Anko's eyes widened, turning to face the long tongued creature behind her. The extended muscle was curled around her discarded kunai, and Orochimaru offered a few words up to the snake summoner.  
Sasuke coolly turned to look at the disguised Sanin. He wore a straw hat that resembled the attire of Akatsuki, minus the cloth and bell. The usual sound gear was present, yet his face wasn't distinct enough for any other Konoha ninja's to pick up on it. But Sasuke knew, the instant that the man's eyes fell on both his family crest, and that of his younger selfs. He was sure that Kabuto would have informed him of the rumour, informed him there was another Uchiha to go at.

"There's a reason I'm on my own in this exam, any team-mates wouldn't be able to keep up."  
Orochimaru frowned a bit before the pale lips twisted up into a smirk, stepping back from Anko and gesturing for the purple haired woman to continue the exam, and stop scaring the wits out of the Genin.

.

Making his way over to team seven after retrieving his own scroll -and signing the silly waivers- Sasuke slowly slid behind Naruto, placing a calming hand on the girls shoulder before smiling. His younger self instantly leaned closer, recognising the devious look in his own eyes, Sakura quickly copying his action.  
Carefully, he dropped a scroll, two heavens and one earth into each of their hands, smirking at their astonished looks.

"It's not wise to stand around waiting to start like these teams have done; I switched their scrolls out for a dud, they won't realise till it disperses in an hour."

"But isn't that cheating?"  
The two males and Naruto turned to look at Sakura, each with an identical eyebrow raised, however Naruto's expression looked too goofy to be somewhat serious disbelief.

"Serious Sakura? We're ninja, we make a living cheating. You'll notice that Anko didn't mention anything about a start time to steal the scrolls, just when we could go into the forest of death. And as for when the scrolls disperse? Let's just say a little lightning chakra can go a long way."

"Hell yeah!" Naruto offered up her hand in a victory high-five, and Sasuke allowed himself the pleasure of complying with the gesture. She then offered up her hand to his younger self who, after a questioning glance at him, repeated the gesture with the blonde.

"Oi! Get to your gates!"  
Affectionately rubbing at each of Team seven's heads, Sasuke took off towards gate 38, but not before ordering them to run to the tower right away.  
This would give him more than enough time to track down Orochimaru and take out the snake, even if the man could use ninjutsu.

He would be no match for his superior eyesight.

* * *

Racing through the forest, Naruto snickered to herself. It wasn't a blow to her pride to accept help from Sasuke-mirai; he was her unofficial team-mate, and team-mates were suppose to help each other. It did help that he was nicer than Sasuke himself. The raven wouldn't let it show, but it'd been a blow to his pride to take the scrolls. Yet, advancing in the exam was all that mattered right now. Suddenly, a large burst of wind smashed into her side, and Naruto was sent toppling away, gasping for breath as the wind was forced from her lungs and blood flew from her mouth. Nothing the Kyubi couldn't fix, but it had separated her from both Sasuke and Sakura.  
Briefly, she wondered how advanced their attacker had to be, using elemental jutsu and all, but that was soon lost as she identified the sound that was beside her.  
Slowly, she turned, blonde head rising up and up until blue eyes met yellow. A snake almost as tall as her apartment stared back, long tongue flicking out and slowly drawing across its lips, eyes never leaving her. Something taunt and scaly coiled around her body, twisting and tightening till it was difficult to breath.

And just like that, she was swallowed up.

* * *

He'd been moving at a nice, leisurely pace, the kind that a Chũnin would manage; the kind that would have him reaching the tower in little under ten minutes. Not exerting any energy, ready to meet his team there and then he could plan for Orochimaru, who'd be left wondering the foresting looking for them. And then he felt it.  
Even from the other side of the forest, he could feel the presence of the Fox, the sharp burst of malice ridden chakra that seemed to clog every corner of his mind and warned him that yes, Orochimaru had most certainly caught team seven before they got to the tower.  
He felt his heart stop in his chest before it began pounding about wildly, fighting to get out and go rescue Naruto regardless of his bodies frozen state. He couldn't lose her now. He couldn't' lose the shadow of her, because then there'd be nothing left.  
Even now though, the hard experiences of his life were calling on his limbs, reawakening them until the muscles screamed in protest at their coiled state, begging to take off, to charge right into the thicket of danger and save his younger self from the curse mark, to save Naruto from the pain of the fight. To eliminate the oncoming threat.  
It all happened in a second, the internal debate with the need to protect coming out on top for the first time in years.

.

And then, something collided with his body, forcing him to the ground with all the wind knocked out of him. Flipping onto his back instantly, he stared up at bloodied whiskered cheeks and Naruto stared back at him, innocent eyes lifted in a smile.

"Hey Sasuke."

* * *

**I'm so horribly sorry this took so long; it's uni application time and I've had a nightmare deciding where my life is going. But now I've decided to head to art, so I'm hoping to takea Fine Art BCS at York St John Uni.  
As such, I've been doing my personal statement -which is hard- and I've finished my first draft at last, so I bring you this.  
Sorry it's so short.**

**.**

**And dear 'Guest' who thinks they're so smart; I'd like to point out Kakashi doesn't know Tobi is Obito, he doesn't even know about Tobi at this stage, and for my timeline -in which Naruto defeated Tobito before going to Sasuke- Sasuke doesn't know Tobi's identity and still believes it to be Madara. So there.**

**.**

**Please vote in the poll?**

**.**

**Thanks for reading,**  
**Tsume**  
**xxx**


	10. Chapter 9

**The Golden Ages**

Chapter 9

* * *

_Right from the start_  
_You were a thief_  
_You stole my heart_  
_And I your willing victim_

_I let you see the parts_  
_Of me that weren't all that pretty_  
_And with every touch you fixed them_

_It's in the stars, it's been  
Written in the scars on our hearts  
We're not broken, just bent  
And we can learn to love again_

_- P!nk, Just Give Me A Reason_

* * *

Strands of blonde hair flickered across his face, tickling at the delicate pale skin, brushing across his cheeks and taking all sense of urgency with them. A body was pressed against his, torso to torso. And the torso was most defiantly female. The scent of fox invaded his nose, a low underline of toad lingering in the presence of the almost overwhelming scent. A tanned hand brushed against his face, smooth pads that rounded off as fingers trailing from cheekbone to jawline and Sasuke found himself forgetting to breath. Bright blue eyes, wide and very much alive stared back at him.  
The last time he'd seen those eyes they'd been dead.

"Wow, you haven't changed a bit. Are we in the forest of death?"  
It was like being hit with a bucket of cold water, suddenly he knew how to breath, how to move, and how to think. And right now, his brain was demanding for this body to be removed from his own.  
Hastily, he throw the girl to a side, rolling till he was propped up on his elbows and knees, staring off to a side in disbelief. She was laid there, just like he'd last seen her but she was breathing and blinking and shit. Scrambling back, Sasuke stared, wide eyes locking onto Naruto's form that was most certainly not twelve and most certainly not dead. She stared back, so happy to see her killer that he was physically sick.

"Woah Sasuke, calm down!" She made to dash over but her threw his hand out, and it wasn't until he looked down the length of his arm that he realised he'd drawn his sword too, the tip pointed to her neck. He watched, fascinated as she swallowed a particularly big lump in her throat, so focused upon the function of her body that he didn't notice her draw a kunai until she'd deflected his blade into the dirt.

"Explain, now." His voice was hoarse, raspy from his dry throat. He couldn't remember how to swallow, couldn't quite figure out what he was doing here.

"Okay listen. The nine-tails chakra sealed in me is only the yang half. I gave half of my yin chakra up, and he gave up half his yang chakra. The yin chakra can create form out of nothing, and yang chakra can breath life into a form. When you activated my seal, the chakra's that were stored there began reacting, and the catalyst was my younger selfs nine-tails chakra, which just tipped it over the edge. My chakra gave me form, and thanks to the huge amount of chakra from the nine-tails and the power it has, it breathed life into me! That's how the tailed beasts reform! They've got enough power to do so, but it takes time without a boost, which is what my younger self gave me, no matter how small!" Naruto threw her arms out wide like she had discovered the answer to world peace.  
And with her alive again, that might just be what she'd started.

It still didn't stop Sasuke's stomach clenching in fear.

.

Upon realizing that he was most certainly not okay with this, Naruto settled down slightly, resting on her haunches and staring at him as she chewed on her lip. She drew a hand across her face, brushing away the blood she'd most likey had to give up to make the seal work and Sasuke could only stare.

"Wait. If we're in the forest of death, then that means it's the Chũnin exam! Crap, we've gotta stop Orochimaru!"  
Before he could even voice his protest at going anywhere with her, he was pulled up onto his feet, forced into running or else he would be thrown flat onto his face.  
It wasn't right. This was all just some sick dream and he was going to wake up soon and fact the cruel reality that Naruto was most definitely not alive, was most definitely not holding his hand and she definitely wasn't pulling him into combat like he was a trusted team-mate instead of a traitorous village murderer.  
But he still couldn't stop himself from following her, eyes lingering on the long blonde hair that flickered around, snapping from side to side much like the jaws of the tailed beast inside her. They weren't just running, they were sprinting at such rapid speeds that the world around him was starting to spin, trees and leaves and sky and ground blurring together until it was all just one big mess of colour before him. Only the warm grip of Naruto's hand around his wrist was real, the only thing solid as his eyes refused to cooperate.  
It wasn't until they stopped running that he realized it was because of the tears streaming down his cheeks.

* * *

From where he was stretched forwards, teeth sunk into the young Uchiha's neck, Orochimaru slowly turned to look at the two newcomers, frowning as he did so. There was the other Uchiha, stood befuddled beside his newest companion. He hadn't seen the blonde girl outside, so she had either been henging or wasn't a Genin at all.  
Withdrawing at a cautious pace, Orochimaru let the raven drop to the ground, ignoring the cries of his pink haired team-mate. Now that he looked at the girl with her whiskered cheeks, orange jumpsuit and so blonde hair, he knew exactly where he'd seen her before. Slowly, his eyes slid over to the Kyubi brat who was held up by a single kunai, passed out against a tree. It just wasn't possible.  
As if realizing he'd put everything together, the girl rotated her shoulders, chakra flaring until it became visible around her in a luminous golden glow, flowing over her body until it coated her in a jutsu so powerful he couldn't resist licking his lips.

"Let's go Kurama!" She screamed before suddenly leaping backwards, the chakra growing around her body until it began to form the visage of a huge nine tailed demon, glowing golden.  
The pink haired girl was staring as much as he was, and even the other Uchiha looked on in shock.  
Backing up, Orochimaru frowned. True he'd fancied his chances with a Kyubi jailer, but going against someone who looked like they'd dropped from the future, in full control of the nine-tails? He wasn't that stupid.  
If he was to true his luck diving in blind, there wouldn't be a forest of death left for the Chũnin exams, and that would mess with his plans a little too much.  
So with a simple flare of chakra, he disappeared into the ground, well aware of the fox eyes following him.

The nine-tails didn't move.

* * *

Sasuke stared at the scare tactic, finding himself face to face with the nine-tails in the form of glowing gold chakra. Stood in the center of it all was Naruto, appearance having drastically changed so that now she was holding her hand out, cape bellowing behind her. Upon watching the snake sink into the ground, the chakra began to receded until all that was left was a very tired looking blonde. She stumbled over, and acting on instinct, he threw a hand out and grabbed her shoulder, watching as the exhausted girl laughed a bit.

"Wow that was difficult with half chakra."  
He didn't want to think about it, to know that she'd been holding something like that back during their fight.

"Who're you?!"  
Both future teens turned to Sakura, differences left behind in sight of the problem presented before them. Shaking his head and wiping back the tears, Sasuke leapt over to the younger Naruto, carefully pulling the kunai from the bark and cradling the blonde child to his chest. He held tightly, staring back at the only other time-traveller in the world, as if daring her to snatch away the one he bundled to his chest. Her lips lifted up slightly at the sight before she leapt towards his younger self, kneeling gently down beside him and ignoring Sakura who attempted to pull her back.

"Leave her to work Sakura, she knows enough about seals to deal with it."  
The pink haired girl instantly snapped over to look at him, staring at the way he held Naruto before she turned back to the unconscious raven.

"Who is she?"

"I'm Naruto... But I suppose you could call me Naru."

.

They managed to stop Sakura from asking anymore questions, instead hiding in the hollowed tree they had done a life-time ago. Sasuke had managed to convince Sakura to sleep, promising to explain in the morning and to defend team seven whilst they rested. Once he was fully sure the three of them were asleep, the elder Uchiha smoothly made his way out from under the tree roots, eyes scanning the clearing. Sure enough, Naruto, his Naruto, was spread out on the worn earth, staring up at the sky's with her blonde hair no longer bound in the pig-tails it'd rested in when she died. Her skin was pale in the recently awakened moon, yet the whiskered cheeks were still present. She looked like a ghost, and for all he cared, she couldn't be anything but.

"You- I mean, he'll recover... You did last time. And I can seal it in the morning... I studied the curse seal a lot after you left, Anko was very helpful...But I couldn't find a way to get rid of it, not yet."  
Blue eyes turned to him before lifting up in a smile. "You never returned my greeting, I said hi."

The next thing she knew, Naruto was flying across the training ground, left gasping for breath by the force of the blow. Gingerly, she raised a hand to her cheek before cradling the soft flesh, wincing as she did so.

"What the hell was that for teme?!"

"For making me think you were dead!" Dropping onto the ground, Sasuke narrowed his eyes; already the bruise on her cheek was beginning to burn with chakra, losing the small purple sheen that'd appeared and retracted back into normal skin.

"I'm sorry! It wouldn't have worked otherwise! Let's get the Chũnin exam out the way, then I'll tell you everything okay?!"  
Blue and Black locked, staring for what felt like hours but could only have been a few measly seconds.  
Finally, Sasuke drew his hand down, uncoiling the fist that'd previously met Naruto's face.

"Fine. But I want answers. All of them."

* * *

When Sakura woke up, it was to the dizzying sight of two Naruto's, one most certainly female.

"What's going on?" Crawling to her hands and knees, the pinkette stared at the blonde girl, who grinned nervously back.

"I'm a girl?" She offered a light shrug before slapping both her younger self and the younger Sasuke around the cheek a few times, scowling as she did so when her attempt at rousing them failed.

"Wait, where's Sasuke-mirai?"  
The elder Naruto -Naru as she had dubbed herself- shrugged apathetically, rolling her eyes as she did so.

"No idea. I could probably track him, but there are more important matters." Then she stripped her younger self of the bulky orange jacket, leaving her in nothing but a tinted mesh shirt. And Sakura could see the subtle hint of female curves. She pulled this up, so that it rested just below the blondes ribs and Sakura stared at the black markings that were scribbled upon a tanned stomach.

"What is that?" She murmured, carefully making her way over to look closer. Naru thrust her hand out to stop her approaching, and Sakura frown at the clear distrust.

"Don't get me wrong, but you don't want to come closer. Burning flesh doesn't smell too good."  
At this, the Haruno finally noticed the five little flames that coated Naru's fingers, each glowing brightly in the dim morning light.

Before Sakura could stop her, the elder blond slammed her fingers against the black squiggles -a seal Sakura realized- and cried out, "Five Elements Unseal!"  
Instantly, her team-mate was awake, screaming in pain as her flesh did most certainly burn for the smallest amount of time. Sakura screamed in horror, but Naru just drew her hand back before pocketing it.

"Now you'll be able to use chakra again... Just waiting for Sasuke to wake up now, so I can deal with his mark..."  
Sakura's eyes trickled over to the raven, whom was still running a fever, and she swallowed the lump in her throat. Just like Sasuke-mirai, this Naruto wasn't what she was use to, she was serious and lacked the silly antics that her younger self did.

And it scared her.

* * *

**Blah. Quick update is quick. Off to school now. Byebye**

**.**

**Please vote in the poll?**

**.**

**Thanks for reading,**  
**Tsume**  
**xxx**


	11. Chapter 10

**The Golden Ages**

Chapter 10

* * *

_Test my reality_  
_Check if there's a weak spot_  
_Clingin' to insanity_  
_In hopes the world will ease up_

_Try to make it look like it's all somehow getting better_  
_'Cause I know how to play it pretty good against the measure_  
_Everyone started out a little insane_  
_But you learn pretty quick how to fake it for the game_  
_But some of you never learned to drop the act_  
_So under that skin of yours: a heart attack_

_'Cause everybody's so scared_  
_We don't wanna go there_  
_We don't wanna make a move_  
_We got got all our lives to lose_  
_Screaming in the dark while we just play our part_  
_I'll play right along_  
_Like I don't know what's going on_

_Somebody make a move_  
_Somebody make a move_  
_Please somebody make a move_

_- Icon For Hire, Make A Move_

* * *

"So, how long has my Sasuke been back here?" Naru squirmed from where she was sat, leaning against the solid bark of the tree. Sakura was sat across from her, staring. The pink haired girls two team-mates were both asleep, Sasuke fighting off the curse seal and Naruto all but knocked out by the five elemental unseal. After she'd fixed up her younger self's chakra problem, the older blonde had pulled out a scroll, unsealing a new outfit for herself. Now; clad in short orange hot-pants with a thick black belt, tinted fishnet shirt and open, long black jacket, Naru found herself in the awkward position of having to explain their little adventures to Sakura seeing as her dearest Sasu had fled the scene of the crime.

"I don't know, he got here after our mission to wave country."  
Frowning, Naru ran her fingers across her forehead, scowling as she did so. That meant Zabuza and Haku had died then. There was no hope for those two, but still so many questions filtered through her mind. Had Sasuke caught up with Itachi yet, was Orochimaru going to still invade now that she had revelled herself and that an older Sasuke was still here? Hell, what did the third think of Sasu popping back from the future? Without a doubt, Jiraiya would be along to see them shortly, if he wasn't in the village already. Scowling, Naruto slid lower against the bark, frowning as she did so.

"Where are those sound ninja's anyway?" She grumbled, sticking her head out of their little shelter and looking around as she did so. As far as she could remember, they should have been here by now, either they were running late, or-

'**_Or in your bout of idiocy showing off to Orochimaru, he realized that he'd be better holding his pawns back instead of sending them in to get slaughtered by you_,**' Kurama's gravelly voice vibrated around in her head and Naruto groaned, slamming her forehead against her knees as she did so.

"Crap, I didn't think about that."  
Now, Sakura was looking at her weird, eyes wide and disbelieving.

"Who are you talking to Naru-san?"  
The blonde twitched ever so slightly before silently forming a cross, a shadow clone appearing next to her.

"Sakura, first off, what they taught you in school was wrong, the fourth never killed the fox, defeated it yes, killed it, no."

"**Instead, I got sealed into this pathetic piece of flesh,**" the shadow-clone grumbled, rubbing at it's ear and scowling at it's body. It grumbled something that sound like 'females' followed by a few choice words, before it's red silted eyes looked up to land on Sakura.

"Be nice Kurama, Sakura's a friend, and you don't need to go scaring her."  
Judging by the looks that the pink haired girl was giving her, it was a little late for that. Sighing, Naru stood up, pulling Sakura to her feet and throwing her up into a fireman's lift.

"Kurama, grab little me and Sasuke, we need to get to the tower. I think that Sasu will meet us on the way, I hope."  
The fox grumbled in annoyance but complied anyway, obviously quite happy to be interacting with the world around him, instead of just watching from his host. From her shoulder, Sakura whimpered slightly when the fox picked Sasuke up, but didn't say anything as he did so.

"When we get to the tower Sakura, I want you to pretend we're not even here, okay?"

* * *

Just as she had guessed, Sasu landed next to them, jumping along the tree-line. Sakura tried to talk to him, but he didn't respond in anyway to whatever she said. Naru almost felt sorry for the girl, almost. But the older Sasuke was being a bit of an ass, as usual. Maybe it was because he wasn't trying to kill her, but she didn't really notice him whenever the younger Sasuke or Naruto would shift.  
Kurama had a good grip on both, but if a solid hit was landed on him, he'd pop like any other shadow clone.

"When the preliminaries are over, you and I are off out of town and are gonna talk this through," Sasu murmured from beside her, much closer than he'd been before.

"I talked it through with Sandaime, he's agreed to say your my team-mate for this test; you were henged before you came in."

"Wait! Why do you have to leave Konoha? What's going on! Who is that?!" Sakura finished her questions before pointing at Kurama. Looking between themselves, the two time travellers sighed deeply, Naru lifting up a hand and pointing with three fingers.

"One, we have to leave because if we stick around in Konoha to talk, we'll level the place before we come to an agreement. Two, it's best you don't know too much and just leave it to us, we know stuff that's best kept to a few people, or it'll all spiral out of control," Naru mused, tucking two of her fingers against her palm before tapping the third one, "and three? I didn't just tell you about the nine-tails for no reason. He wasn't joking when he said he'd been sealed into me, and I wouldn't joke about who he was. Now just be quite till we get to the tower Sakura, and trust me. We're team-mates after all."

* * *

Anko met them at the base of the tower, looking at the younger team seven and spluttering slightly.

"You can't just carry them through the test!"  
Naru shrugged, setting Sakura back down on her feet and tucking her thumbs into her belt loops.

"You never gave a rule against it."

"**The brat has a curse seal,**" Kurama grumbled, throwing Sasuke at Anko and ignoring his elder selfs offended look, "**I'll be able to break it, but not without the correct equipment.**"  
Anko seemed to do a double take on Naru's clone, almost whimpering at the dark red eyes that stared back at her.

"You let it out, what the fuck are you thinking?!" The purple haired kunoichi made to dive at Naru, but Sasu and Kurama where between the in a split second, the latter having dropped Naruto in order to do so.

"First off Anko-chan, his name is Kurama, not it. And second, he's a comrade. But I bet you learnt that from your little run in with Orochimaru."  
Now the snake summoner did splutter before making a few hand seals. Instantly, an ANBU was in front of her, bowing.

"Call of the search, the seal hasn't given way, they've paired up." The ninja with the bone white mask turned to look at the curvy blondes before backing away. Shifting nervously, Naru looked over at Kurama, who was now straightening up and looking down at his body in disdain. As if hit by a sudden idea, the fox placed his fingers together before henging, the smoke clearing to reveal an older, male teen with fiery red dreadlocks for hair.

"**Much better**," he grumbled, running a hand through his hair before turning back to Naru for instructions.  
Ignoring the gaping Anko, Naru dodged passed her, dragging her younger self into the tower, Sasu copying her actions. Kurama and Sakura came after them, the latter more nervous than Shikamaru in the presence of his mother.

"I'll see about making a clone that can take more hits later Kurama, but I guess you can be our third team-mate, right?"  
Sasu chocked on his own spit, looking over at Kurama who just growled at him.

"**We'll see if your Hokage will accept it first brat. I'll manage to take out a Genin without them landing a hit on me, but in a full, showy fight that your village is so fond off, I'm not too sure this temporary body will last.**"

"I'll fix it, don't worry."  
Sakura walked behind the two conversing teens, one human and one a demon. She looked to Sasu for help, but the teen just shook his head.

"Sometimes Sakura, it is better to ignore them. But Naru is right, it's best if you don't know too much. We will explain, when it's safe to do so. And only then."

* * *

**I don't care if it's short or snappy, I rather like the chapter. I will get to explanations later okay? Thanks for the super reviews, almost at 200 now! ***lots of glee*  
**The next chapter will be much longer, 2500+ okay?**

**.**

**If anyone who reads this also read's Death Note, then I'd like to tell you I have to stories on the go; 'Bullseye' and the now being rewritten as different story 'I'm Yours' which has the basic idea from before, but is better. Both have Beyond and L in them, so check them out please?  
If you have never read Death Note, then you really need to!**

**.**

**Thanks for reading,**  
**Tsume**  
**xxx**


	12. Chapter 11

**The Golden Ages**

Chapter 11

* * *

_playin these war games_  
_got us in this still make love head to head_  
_pretending were not self destructed again_  
_now were trying to fight it_  
_when the both of us know it wouldn't work out no more_  
_now its gone an or exploded in our hands_

_cause you and i are like missiles in the sky_  
_we go uh uh uh up_  
_we go uh uh uh up_  
_and you and i were both born to collide and blow uh uh uh up_  
_we blow uh uh uh up_  
_when were together, explode_  
_detonation, up in smoke_  
_this love is over and done, explode_  
_detonation, up in smoke_  
_this love is over, over_

_- The Risk, Missiles_

* * *

Shifting nervously from foot to foot, Sakura looked behind her and tried not to twitch. When they had arrived at the tower the previous day, Naru, Sasu and- and the nine tailed fox had dragged Sasuke off to god knows where. All she knew when they came back was that Sasuke was going to be out of it for the rest of the day. And now as they all stood to attention, with the Third Hokage stood before them, giving out a rather inspiring speech, she knew the officials were trying to ignore the three teens slouched at the back of the room. It was, what she assumed, a normal school would be like. All the good children that followed orders were around her, and then the three at the back were the rebels. Only they were rebel ninja's that rebelled against time.  
Kurama had readjusted his henge again till he looked to be the same age as the elder Sasuke and Naruto; he was leaning against the back wall, head up against all the people staring at him. Naru shifted in her stance ever so slightly, eyes floating over both of her team-mates before resting on the white haired man next to the Hokage. He was tall, easily the tallest man in the room, with spiky white hair that fell down his back in a ponytail.

"Finally, there have been a few complaints about a certain team in this exam. So many that I've found myself having to explain their presence. Team nine-" Kurama seemed to snort at the number and Sakura watched as Naru discretely placed a hand over her mouth to keep herself from laughing, "-consisting of Sasu Uchiha, Naru-" the blonde girl scowled as she was denied a last name, "-and Kurama are led by Jiraiya."  
The man in question, the tall white haired man, nodded to confirm his identity.

"They've been travelling with him, and have returned now at my request. They insisted on joining the Chũnin exams instead of getting a field promotion, hence their presence. Now, let's begin."

* * *

Walking up the steps behind her sensei, Naru turned to Kurama, sending him a telepathic message to behave. The red head had just grinned at her, offering up a wink before leaping up to sit a top the railing, leg's swigging wildly back and fourth.

"You're enjoying this freedom aren't you?" She whispered, elbowing him gently in the ribs and watching as his face lit up.

"**Yes, it's great to be out and being able to fight without the hatred of an entire village.**"

"Just remember your body can't take any damage... I'm quite worried how Kabuto's old team got in, looks like Jiji stuck an extra team-mate on for them; I'm sure Sasuke said they got eliminated..."

"Kurama and Misumi Tsurugi, can you please make your way to the arena?" As if on cue, the third Hokage's voice rang out through the room, and Kurama's smile widened, sharp canines glinting in the light. With no hesitation, he leapt from the railings, landing on the ground in a feral looking crouch that had his 'team-mates' rolling their eyes. Thick, red dreadlocks fell heavily around his back, two framing his face as amber eyes locked onto his target. Misumi shifted ever so slightly, eyes narrowing behind his round spectacles at the red head.

"The two participants in this fight, Kurama and Misumi Tsurugi, are you ready to fight?"  
Jumping from foot to foot, Kurama gave a brief nod, wild smile once again crossing his face.

"**I'm ready.**"

* * *

From where she was sat on the side-lines, Sakura tightened her grip on the railings, watching the red-head below her. Naruto was sat beside her, eyes wide and completely focused upon the two fighters.

"Sakura-chan, you're looking Kurama funny, why?"  
The pinkette timidly shook her head, green eyes locking onto the human form of the nine-tailed demon. His opponent was the first to use a jutsu, twisting his body at unnatural angles and stretching his limbs in way that should be physically impossible. As one arm shot towards Kurama, the demon moved with a fluid grace even Jōnin failed to copy, flipping backwards till he was perched against the far wall.

Amber eyes slowly worked their way up to the boy, Kurama offered up a light smirk, "**You're whole body's been tampered with, but it doesn't matter if you can't catch me!**" He leapt away from the limbs again, red-locks twisting outwards. Rolling onto the floor, the red-head twisted, holding out his right hand as a glowing yellow orb began to form, spinning rapidly in place before the time-traveller darted forwards. Misumi didn't even see him coming till he was right behind him, thrusting the chakra into his back. The results were disgustingly fascinating. Instantly, the purple fabric that'd made up Misumi's shirt gave way, shredded remains flying away in any and all directions.  
Next came the layer of skin, ripping apart in a corkscrew like motion that had the victim screaming in pain. Blood soon follow, mutilated parts of what had once been muscle trailing after them.  
Dropping to the floor, the once overconfident Genin let out another strangled scream, not dead but his future career was looking dim. Kurama stood back, frowning at the mass of human flesh before him.

"**Maybe I over powered it a bit...**" He trailed off, scratching lightly at the back of his neck before shrugging apathetically to himself.  
From where she was gripping the metal railings, Sakura watched as the Kyubi in human form bounced back up to his jailer, listened as he chuckled at what the blonde was saying to him. Her grip on the railings tightened and she whimpered unconsciously.

"He's a monster."

* * *

Shifting where she was sat, Naru just smiled up at Jiraiya, trying to ignore the way he'd all but demanded she 'explain this hell the second the preliminaries were over'. Kurama had gotten bored of watching the medic's carry his opponent away and way now playing with his hair, swatting one long strand back and fourth in his hands. If it wasn't for the fact she knew exactly who he was, she'd assume he was the two-tails.

"**I heard that brat, focus on your own fight.**"  
Grunting, Naru looked up at the screen to see it was indeed her name plastered across the board, alongside Ino Yamanaka's. The other blonde, having no idea who she was aside from the fact she was hanging out with the older Sasuke look alike, was scowling at her, eyes narrowed, and giving off a general vibe of butt-whooping. Naru laughed lightly, leaping off the railing before landing in the center of the court. Ino trotted down the stairs, flicking her hair over her shoulder before turning to look at her older opponent. Naru was trying her damn hardest not to look at either Neji or Gaara, fearing that she could possibly be giving something away. From the top though, she could see Sakura looking down at her and she already knew who the pink haired girl would be rooting for.

"Give her hell Ino!" As predicted, Naru was most definitely not in Sakura's good books, that be because she'd let out the nine-tails, knew older Sasuke better than her or because she'd simply shown up, Naru wasn't quite sure. She was without a doubt though, not missing the chance to actually succeed at a Chũnin exam. It was after all her second one, to fall out at this stage would make her the laughing stock of a nine-tailed demon and a boy with creepy eyes. Looking over at Sasuke-mirai to find him looking away, Naru bit her lip, sighing as the protractor allowed them to start. Ino instantly reached for her shuriken, and Naru deflected them without looking.

"Come on, something a little more challenging?"  
Ino scowled, going to form hand seals, but was too slow. Naru raced forwards punching the girl in the stomach and sending her flying backwards. The blonde pre-teen only just managed to catch herself before her head met the wall, a gasp flying from her mouth in shock. Dusting down the seat of her shorts, Naru jumped from foot to foot, raiding her brain for a jutsu that wouldn't kill Ino. Surprisingly enough, there wasn't any that came to mind. Maybe fighting in war wasn't such a great idea?  
Ducking out the way as the blonde came at her, Naru almost missed when Ino formed her clan's signature jutsu.

"Crap, Ino no! Don't do that, you'll-" Naru was cut off as Ino's consciousness came at her, slamming hard and fast into her.  
They were both dragged down into the depths of her mind and Naru screamed inwardly.

.

Surprisingly enough, the time-travel had had no effect on the appearance of her mind-scape, the murky water was still present, and apparently Kurama had jumped his consciousness into her body for now, his clone much just be on autopilot for the moment.

"God, this place is a dump." Ino scowled, kicking at the water before her head began rotating, looking for the controls to Naru's body and scowling. Then she stopped at the sight of the open golden gates, a frown on her face.

And then Kurama decided a joke would be fun, because he sent killer intent, only a handful of what he possessed towards Ino, growling "**Get out**" as he did so.  
Ino was gone in an instant, and Naru only had time to send the fox an annoyed look before she too was pulled back into the conscious world.

.

Ino was on her hands and feet, backing up like a crab and screaming, tears in her eyes and her head shaking back and forth as quickly as humanly possible.

"I forfeit!" Her cry pierced the air and Asuma was down beside her in an instant.

"What the hell did you do to her?!" The Sarutobi's voice was like gravel on a hot day, burning Naru as the elder blonde winced, looking away from the half hysterical girl as she shook her head.

"I didn't do anything. I tried to warn her." Leaping up into the stands and forcing herself not to punch Kurama in the arm -because popping the shadow-clone would be more trouble than it was worth- Naru watched in sick fascination as Asuma pulled the thrashing girl away.  
Sakura was staring down at her former best friend with teary eyes, hands clenching at the railings before her. Even Kakashi had lowered his back, a frown upon his face. Sharpening her hearing, Naru managed to catch the voice of her younger self, asking the silver haired sensei what had happened.

"Maa Naruto, there's a reason Ino has been purposely barred from entering your mind. We told all the Yamanaka's children that it'd a blood-line, but you should be able to figure out why."  
Her face dropped slightly, a soft 'Oh' escaping her lips before she dropped onto the floor, frowning a bit.

The Third Hokage -god was it good to see him alive again- took to the floor, informing them there would be a quick break as he personally had to sort out the problem with Miss Yamanaka, and that some Yakisoba would be brought in for a quick meal.  
There was no point in complaining about others getting food to fight on; the life of a ninja was unfair, as the Genin were quickly coming to learn.

.

Making her way over for food, Naru tried her best ignore the people avoiding her, not wanting to relapse into the days back in her childhood. Her younger self had made her way over, staring up with wide eyes between both her and Kurama. Finally she subtly rested her hand before looking over at the red-head male questioning. Kurama gave a short, barking laugh, canines sharp and glinting in the light as his eyes twinkled in amusement.

"**I almost forgot how idiotic you were at that age Naruto.**" He reached out, ruffling the younger blondes hair and rolling his eyes at the way her face lit up in fear and joy.

"You're on our side?"

"**I'm on Naruto's side. You are my first friend. And I will protect you and those you care for. You will end the hatred of the world, whether you believe it or not. You destroyed mine.**" Plucking up his dish and smirking at the server, Kurama dropped onto the floor, leaning back against the wall and smirking when her younger self instantly joined him. Having snatched up her own food, Naru quickly joined him, trying to ignore the fact Sasuke-mirai was now hovering around her younger self, as if expecting Kurama to bite her head off at any given moment. And as if following his elder self, Sasuke had made his way over, dropping onto his rump right next to her.  
As Naruto and Kurama began conversing under the watchful eye of Sasuke-mirai, Naru turned her attention to the neglected younger Uchiha. He was staring at her with dark, raven eyes, a frown across his face as he twisted noodles between his chopsticks.

"What's up?"

"Are you really Naruto? Because you don't seem like an older version of the dobe."

"I'm Naruto 'ttebayo!"  
Mirth quickly entered Sasuke's eyes, and no matter how hard he tried to wipe it away, it was still resting there. It meant this Sasuke was still here, still with Team Seven, and whilst the older one was trying to get back into the swing of it, it was clear by his stiff stance that he still wasn't quite at that point yet.

"And who's that?" Chopsticks pointing over at Kurama, Sasuke raised an eyebrow, looking up at Naru. "Why's Sakura freaking out over him?"  
There was a collective silence as Kurama and Sasuke-mirai both picked up on what was being said. Shuffling about nervously, Naru brushed her bangs back from her face before sighing.

"I'll tell you after this part of the exam. Not here. Too many people."

"Okay Genin, let's get back on with it. Next up to fight, Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno!"

* * *

**I'm sorry this took so long, my apologies. I'll try harder for the next chapter. **

**In other news, I got a conditional from the University I want to go to. That's what got me in the mood to write this. **

**.**

**Thanks for reading,**  
**Tsume**  
**xxx**


	13. Chapter 12

**The Golden Ages**

Chapter 12

* * *

_DAMN! damn it all down  
took one to the chest without even a sound so  
WHAT! what are you worth  
the things you love or the people you hurt  
HEY! it's like deja vua suicidal maniac with nothing to lose  
so wait, it's the exception to the rule  
every one of us in EXPENDABLE_

_- Shinedown, Diamond Eyes_

* * *

Looking down at the blonde Yamanaka, the Third Hokage frowned, puffing slightly upon the pipe within his mouth.

"We can bring her around Lord Hokage," one of the medic's chimed, eyes warm with sympathy for the girl upon the bed. Nodding, the Third put out his pipe, allowing a single ring of smoke to leave his lips before he turned his attention to the young Yamanaka.

"Ino-chan."  
The girl snapped to attention almost immediately, eyes wide as she stared up at his still form.

"That was-"

"Yes Ino. But you can not mention it to anyone. The fox in under control. That I promise you. He is no longer a threat."

"But..." She trailed off, looking over to the side of the bed and frowning ever so slightly. "It was almost like, it was protecting her."  
Nodding and adjusting the hat atop his head, the Third relit his pipe, turning towards the door.

"Well, we do protect those we consider friends Yamanaka-chan. Even demons."

* * *

Leaping from foot to foot, Naruto let her eyes narrow ever so slightly, clenching and unclenching her fists as she jumped about. Above her, upon the railings, Sasuke-mirai was looking down, one leg dangling over the balcony, the other drawn to his chest. The sword that sat upon the back of his belt was angled just so, so that in an instant it could be pulled out and fired away. Beside him was her older self, both hands clutching at the railings in front of her and a frown upon the tanned face. It was almost surreal, knowing she was going to grow up to look like that. She'd always worried she was going to end up flat chested, or with an odd growth like that one ninja. But it seemed she'd turn out pretty fine as long as she kept working out.  
Flanking Naru's side was the Nine-tailed fox. Unfairly enough, it seemed her older self was on rather grand terms with the demon, so much that she'd even let it out to prance about beside her. Naruto wasn't stupid, the fox was undying loyal towards her elder self, and thus her by attachment. That was good, the most powerful demon in existence on her side meant that Konoha also had the most awesome of allies. She'd be a step closer to Hokage for sure, but now that her older self was back, which of them would become Hokage? Because there was no way Naruto was giving up that dream, not even to her older self.

Stretching out her arms before halting her hops. Sakura was stood across for her. The pink haired girl was looking at her, green eyes guarded. One hand was hovering over her weapons pouch, and though it pained Naruto, she knew she couldn't lose this match. No way in hell, even if it meant taking Sakura down. Naruto wasn't stupid, the time-travellers had played a part in the pairings, and obviously the two of them weren't originally against one another. For a moment, she wondered who her opponent was suppose to be before shaking her head. That didn't matter now.

"Are you both ready?"  
Naruto chirped a yes, whilst Sakura just nodded, blank gaze now replaced with steel determination.

.

Cartwheeling to a side instantly, Naruto pulled out her own throwing stars to deflect Sakura's,the sharp clang that rung out as the metal met was music to her ears. She could feel everyone's eyes on her, expecting her to lose to Sakura. She was the class dobe after all, and whilst some may have noticed her resemblance to Naru, it was safe to say they hadn't put two and two together. Not yet.  
Sakura came in with two clones, illusions and not the solid copies that Naruto was able to produce. Chewing on her lip and attempting to figure out a way to beat Sakura without hurting her too badly, Naruto leapt to a side, brushing her bangs back from her face was a deep sigh. Sakura's fist slammed into her ribs and Naruto jolted back, automatically kicking the girls legs out from under her in a reflexive, sweeping arch. Sakura jumped but Naruto managed to hook her foot around one of the girl's skinny ankles, pulling her to the ground whilst Naruto twisted back and away. Pulling out her favourite hand seal, Naruto called up on two shadow-clones, going in quick. She knew Sakura didn't excel at Taijutsu, she had always avoided it, for fear of sweating and smelling in front of Sasuke. She had the basics down from the academy, and whilst that would usually give her an advantage, Naruto hadn't just been training with the team.

.

Hand shooting out, Naruto flipped herself over on it, bringing her body low before kicking up at Sakura's chin, sending the girl flying into the air. One of her clones followed up with a punch, sending her higher, whilst the second clone launched Naruto into the air.

"Uzumaki knock-out!" Drop kicking Sakura on the shoulder was one of the hardest things she'd ever had to do in a fight. The girl went down with a sickening thud and didn't get back up.  
Chewing on her lip and taking a set back, Naruto reined her chakra back in, both shadow-clones disappearing with a synchronized pop of smoke. She barely registered the announcement that she'd won, instead focusing upon Sakura.

"Sakura-chan?"

"Get away from me! You're a liar and a cheat! I know what's in you! You'd be nothing without that!" Sakura's palm came down hard upon her cheek and Naruto drew back, wounded.  
Instantly Sasuke-mirai and Kurama were between the two of them, sword and kunai's drawn. But Sakura was already being carted off by the medical ninja's, looking to set her shoulder back in place.

.

Turning her eyes to Kurama, Naruto grimaced, shakily getting to her feet.

"**She'll come around brat, just make sure you prove it's you.**" Grabbing her by the shoulder and not giving her much of a choice in the matter, the red-head carried her off the court like a rugby ball, tucked neatly against his side. Sasuke-mirai followed not shortly after, landing beside Sasuke and Naru. The older blonde placed a comforting hand upon her shoulder but offered her no words, just a gentle squeeze that didn't relax her at all. So instead, Naruto turned her attention to the fights.

* * *

A half hour later, Shikamaru had managed to pull a win out of his rump against the female sound ninja, Tenten had trumped some Konoha nin on the older team and Temari -the sand chic- had blown Kiba away. Literally.  
Sasuke had just finished his match against a chakra sucking leech and was now resting beside her. Every so often, he look over at her, frowning slightly. Naruto busied herself with her thumbs, twiddling them about and picking at the edges of her nails in an attempt to remove dirt that wasn't there anymore.

"Next up, Sasu Uchiha and Dosu Kinuta please."  
Calmly walking down the stairs, Sasuke-mirai took his sweet time arriving upon the arena floor, smirking ever so slightly at Dosu's impatient look. He had one hand resting upon the handle of his sword, the other lazily hanging beside him, fingertips brushing against the dark material of the man-skirt. Sasuke had perked up beside her and Naruto would be lying if she said she wasn't paying extra attention to the going ons below her. Because if there was one thing that could pull her mind away from Sakura, it the chance to watch Sasuke-mirai in battle. Even the Third looked a little excited behind the calm visage.

.

Finally arriving the start position, Sasuke-mirai shuffled from one foot to another, neither nervous or unsettled. Instead, impatient, though he gave off no other mesmerism that he was. The Sound Ninja seemed to be eyeing him as wearily as he had done her elder self, and Naruto shifted about on the railings. Surely they weren't that strong, were they? Because hell, that made her a teeny tiny bit impatient.

"Begin."  
It happened so fast that it made Naruto's head spin. Sasuke-mirai was stood perfectly still, and not even a blink later, he was half-way across the arena, sword deep in the chest of the sound ninja and electricity dancing across both of their skins. The lone eye the Sound nin let show was open but unseeing, instant death. His organs had to be fried with the amount of electricity that was racing through him, and as Sasu coolly pulled back, someone in the audience let out a chocked cry. Naruto wasn't too sure who it was, but she knew that she wasn't too far from repeating the noise. Even beside her Sasuke's eyes had widened in sickened awe of his older self; how could he not?  
For a second, Naruto wondered if the sound ninja was a threat in the future, or if he'd done wrong to Sasuke-mirai. Her older self wasn't giving too much away, so thoughts ran wild inside of Naruto's head.

.

There was a collection of outbursts, Asuma grumbling that a cold-hearted bastard like that shouldn't have been trained by Jiraiya. Even the white-haired sanin looked a little annoyed at what had happened.

"The Uchiha wins," came the dull announcement, as Sasuke-mirai pulled his sword from the lifeless corpse and casually wiped the blood from his blade. A low growl from behind her let Naruto know her older self didn't approve and she was thankful, because at least she hadn't lost her ability to be saddened at the loss of life.

"We'll take a break now."

* * *

A collection of fights later had all the finalists stood upon the arena floor. Naruto was a little sickened to still see some blood upon the floor before her. It might have been Hinata's, it might have been the Sound Ninja's. She wasn't too sure though. Turning her head, she could spy the three time-travellers, Kurama's muscles coiled beneath the long-sleeve, fishnet shirt he wore. The elder selves of both her and Sasuke were stood close, but couldn't be further apart. There was a distinct urge of 'we need to talk' running between them, and only the demon dared to point it out.  
Sasuke was stood beside her, and he too was paying no attention to the Thirds speech, instead eyeing the competition, just like her. She clutched at the number she'd drawn, a four, whilst waiting for the board to light up with her future opponent.

"And now, your opponents."  
Stood in front of Naruto, was the Sand chic and her two brothers, along with both Tenten and Neji. Chomping down on her lower lip at the thought of Neji and what he'd done to Hinata, Naruto turned her attention to the board. And almost whooped in joy. There, perfectly set up, was her name, right next to Neji's. Hell, she was gonna crush him. Really crush him.

.

Forcing herself to pay attention to the other match ups, Naruto let her eyes drift over the other words. Sasuke was up against the the Sand chic and, oh dear. The two brothers were against one another it would appear, and it wasn't good, if the way the elder brother was sliding away from the red head right now was any indication. Naru was up against Shikamaru, and Sasuke-mirai was against Shino. Ouch, it was safe to say both the future dwellers would be passing through those rounds, it hadn't mattered who they were up against.  
However, the most interesting thing was that when they both won, they'd be paired against one another. They seemed to have realized it too, because Naru was smirking at Sasuke-mirai, and the raven seemed to have even managed to find the humour in this.  
Finally, Kurama was paired up against Tenten. The weapons mistresses looked quite worried, but determined. Kurama looked like he didn't have a care in the world, too busy flicking a long dreadlocks back and forth between his hands, smirking at it. It was not comforting though, that the fox would be her opponent if she won against Neji. That might pose a problem.

Swearing to train like hell, Naruto turned her glare on Neji, baring her teeth at his smug smile.

"It's on."

* * *

**Told you I'd be a bit quicker this time. Okay, here's the next part.**

**Finally, I have been aching to get past this bit of the Chunin exam's, so pleased I managed it. What do you think of the fight-pairings? Here they are in basics;  
**Kurama v Tenten  
Naruto v Neji  
Sasu v Shino  
Naru v Shikamaru  
Gaara v Kankuro  
Sasuke v Temari

**So? Comments?**

**.**

**Thanks for reading,**  
**Tsume**  
**xxx**


	14. Chapter 13

**The Golden Ages**

Chapter 13

* * *

_Baby!, Imma let you play my part, _  
_So you can feel a broken heart, _  
_Let me just talk, make sure that you call _  
_So I can say it _

_Baby, Baby somebody's gonna cry tonight, _  
_Baby (baby), Baby (baby), but it won't be my tears tonight _  
_So whatcha think about that, _  
_whatcha think about it, _  
_So whatcha think about that, that, that (oh baby) _

_- Pussycat Dolls, Whatcha Think About That_

* * *

It was three in the morning when Naruto woke to the raised voices of both her older self and the older Sasuke. The former had moved in, and had been reasonably shocked to find out Sasuke-mirai had been bunking their since his arrival. As predicted, Naruto had foolishly believe the two would get on fine. As it turned out, not so much. Kurama, whom was out in the library somewhere researching for a solid body, had left her alone to deal with this. And Naruto could barely handle her Sasuke, never mind both the future one. And herself to boot.

Groaning and pawing at her sleep ridden eyes, Naruto forced herself up and out of bed, drawing the curtain back. Had she ever had a family, complete with loving but annoying parents, she expecting this kind of scene was a regular thing.  
Sasuke-mirai was sat up to the table, sipping at a hot chocolate as her older self marched back and forth, ranting in big, long words and that Naruto sure as hell didn't know now.

.

They both paused at her entrance, turning to look at her and she suddenly felt like she'd walked in on an adult conversation.

"Go back to bed," Sasuke-mirai looked up at her from over the rim of his drink, unamused frown on his face as he ignored her elder self, who was in fact reaching for her pigtails. When she'd gotten a good grip, she gave a light tug, as if the pain stopped her from firing off into another rant.

"No. Nononononono. She should come we us. All of team seven should. And Jiraiya too."

"It's too dangerous and you know it."

"And it's not here with Orochimaru in town?! They'd be safer with us and you know it!" Naruto's head was spinning. She recognised the name Jiraiya as team nines undercover Jōnin, but she had no further idea as to who he really was. Orochimaru on the other hand, was most certainly dangerous. He'd attacked there team, and she wasn't too sure where Sasuke-mirai and her older self were going, but she sure as hell wanted to come with.

"Please?" Turning her gaze to the Sasuke sat upon her table, Naruto fluttered her eyes as best as she could, only just catching the boy's exasperated sigh.

"No Sakura or Sasuke," he finally grumbled, standing before depositioning his empty cup within the sink.

"No, if we take Kakashi, the other two come as well," Naru folded her arms across her chest, scowling at the raven haired boy as Naruto shifted nervously from foot to foot, "I need to talk to Sakura, and little you needs the Chidori against Gaara. End of."  
Sasuke-mirai growled, but said nothing else, instead turning back to the sofa and lying across it. Turning to her elder self, Naruto raised an eyebrow in what she hoped was a questioning manner.  
She had no idea what she'd just talked herself into, and with the way her older self was currently looking at her, she wasn't sure she wanted to know.

* * *

Leaping across rooftops, Naruto of the future frowned, trying not to think too much into why Sasuke just wanted her out on the edges of Konoha. She was pretty sure he wouldn't kill her -again- because he could have just offed her younger self instead. But still... Shaking her head, she mentally threw that thought to Kurama.

'_**Delicious,**_' the fox grumbled sarcastically. His clone body had gone pop just before she had gotten to her younger-self's house, so he was once again resting inside of her open seal. '_**Why don't you focus on actually getting a body ready for me? I have all the knowledge you'll need on seals and the chakra required, you just need to fetch me some DNA.**_'  
Naru tripped, stumbling before managing to land in a half okay position on the street. Several early morning civilians looked at her with raised eyebrows, but Naru ignored them, instead brushing down her shirt before straightening herself.

'_**Smooth,**_' Kurama chuckled from within her and Naru growled slightly under her breath. This in turn just sent the fox into another fit of chuckles.

'_What kinda of DNA are we talking about here Kurama?_' Naru had a vague idea wha the stuff was, when travelling Jiraiya had made a point of trying to educate her, so she wasn't without knowledge. It was just a bit, fuzzy.

'_**Brat, you know nothing. I will need the blood of several people, yourself and a male or two, and these will be the building blocks for my clone.**_'

'_Okay Fuzz-butt. Now leave me be, I've got stuff to do._'  
Adjusting her clothes until she looked somewhat respectful, Naru knocked against the door in front of her, leaping from one foot to another. The sun was just starting to bleed onto the horizon, which meant Sasuke-mirai would be rallying the rest of their rag-tag team. Seeing as he was tasked with fetching Kakashi, the teen had probably gotten an earlier start than what she did.  
Even if Naru personally thought that this would be the hardest person to convince.

.

Mebuki Haruno was a tall, blonde woman, a former Genin whom now run a convenience store that as a child, Naru had never been allowed into. It wasn't until her daughter had joined up that she'd stopped outcasting Naru, and instead just ignoring the girl. But obviously, she was no longer Naruto in this woman's eyes now. She was a student of Jiraiya only.

"Good morning Haruno-san," dropping into a bow that her Sakura had almost beat into her in the future, Naru looked up at the woman and grinned.

"Ah, good morning ninja-san," Sakura's mother smiled, the gesture lifting her green eyes and Naru was struck by how very differently people acted.

"I'm here to see Sakura-chan?"

"Sakura! There's a ninja at the door for you!"  
Naru rocked back on her heels, head bopping from side to side as she awaited the pink haired girl.

"I'll be stealing your daughter for a months training Haruno-san, she won't need her pack," Naruto lifted up the bag in her right hand, grinning, "I already got it for her."  
If this woman was worried about the fact a ninja had been in her daughters room, she didn't show it.

"Of course. I assume she will be back before the Chũnin exam finals?"  
Nodding, Naru stepped back as Sakura appeared at the door. Before the girl could scream, Naru snatched her up and took off.

It was only when she was three houses away that Sakura managed a cry of disbelief.

* * *

Watching in barely masked amusement as his Naruto dropped the young Sakura onto the ground, Sasuke-mirai adjusted his bag straps, trying to ignore he annoyed glances he kept getting from the three males around him; Kakashi -very upset about being pulled away from the memorial stone-, Jiraiya -upset about his premature separation between himself and the bathhouse- and his younger self -who was just upset- stood beside him, each in a separate state of annoyance.

"This better be good," Jiraiya grumbled, eyeing the older Naru wearily, "is the seal still holding?"

"Works like a charm Ero-sensei," Naru grumbled, lifting up her shirt to show the black squiggles that spread across her stomach.  
In actuality, it was both Sasukes first look at it, and whilst his younger self was incredibly interested in the design, Sasuke-mirai was more focused upon what lay behind that open seal.

"Of course, I'll explain everything when we get where we're going," her eyes drifted over to him and Sasuke-mirai coughed, gathering the groups attention. The only one that hadn't made a noise so far was the younger Naruto, which in itself was odd.

"We're heading to the valley of the end. It's not any more than a five hour journey away at a Genin running speed. We're going to explain a few things, like the different Susanoo's."  
Naru perked up almost instantly, collecting the hidden meaning whilst Jiraiya and Kakashi frowned in confusion.

"Is that the purple thing you almost attacked Sakura with?"  
Of course, now was the time Naruto chose to speak up, eyes narrowed slightly, confirming to Sasuke-mirai that the the girl most certainly did not want to see it again.

"Yes, that was a Susanoo. Now let's get going. We need to be there before dark."

.

They arrived four hours and fifty two minutes later. Sakura had all but collapsed sometime into the third hour, and Naru had offered to carry the girl. To say the pink haired girl had scampered like a scared puppy towards her sensei would be an understatement. A vast one. Kakashi had spent the rest of the time piggy-backing her, and Naru had been frowning off into space, occasionally playing a game with her younger self and the smaller Sasuke. Jiraiya had just followed them silently, and Sasuke-mirai wasn't going to try and talk to him, because the questions would be on the time seal, and he wasn't too sure he could talk about it without admitting he'd killed the mans god-daughter.  
Yeah, he wasn't going there.

.

Skidding to a halt upon the shoreline of the lake, Sasuke-mirai took a good look around before dropping his pack, the rest of the team waiting for someone.

"We'll explain once we sort out a more pressing problem. Sensei? Sasuke? Can I get some of your blood?"  
Sasuke-mirai froze, looking over at Naru. She had drawn a kunai along the back of her hand, blood dripping around her fist and into the small bowl that now rested on the floor.

"What is this for Naru?" Kakashi grumbled, pulling off his glove and offering it up all the same. Sasuke's younger self was looking at the bowl, scowling before his eyes narrowed, waiting on an explanation.

"Making a more solid clone. Now come on," she slapped her hands together, making a quick, sharp clapping noise.  
With a sigh, Kakashi drew a kunai across his hand, a thin trail of blood trickling out and a few drops splashing into the bowl.

"Why should I help?" Sasuke grumbled, folding his arms across his chest, the younger Uchiha stared challengingly up against the tall blonde.  
Before Naru could snap though, Sasuke-mirai ran a kunai along his wrist, throwing his blood into the mix and looking over at Naru with a dull stare. The girl huffed, forming a clone before pulling out a paintbrush and bottle of water. The water went into the bowl too, followed by the paintbrush, and she began dutifully scrawl across the clones skin.  
Jiraiya had made his way over, frowning at the occasional symbol and muttering curses.

"Where the hell did you get these from?"

"Kurama. He spent a long while with Mito, so he knows his seals."

.

Before the white haired man could ask anymore questions, there was a flare of chakra, only truly familiar to Sasuke-mirai and the four of them -Naru, Sasuke-mirai, Jiraiya and Kakashi- all turned to look at the new arrival. And a small smile broke across Sasuke-mirai's face.

Sat upon the very edge of the cliff-top, Itachi Uchiha looked down at the entourage before him, a small smile upon his face. The Akatsuki cloak was thrown hazardously over his shoulder, hanging loosely in the breeze. Sasuke-mirai was pleased to see him chewing delicately upon on a dango stick, a bag of food clutched in his other hand. One leg was extended before him, the other pulled up to his chest to support the hand holding the dango.

"Ah," he mused, looking at them, more specifically, both Sasukes, before standing up, "You brought friends Sasuke."

* * *

**Finito. Itachi time baby! I can't wait to get this wrote out; looking forwards to some Kurama and Itachi interaction. One ancient with heaps of knowledge and the other just genuinely smart. **

**.**

**Thanks for reading,**  
**Tsume**  
**xxx**


End file.
